NEW INVESTIGATION RELEASED: Improvements Are Needed to Identify and Address Potential Conflicts of Interest and Outside Employment

On November 6, 2025, my Office released a report on a Whistleblower investigation arising from a complaint submitted to the City Auditor’s Whistleblower Hotline.

The complaint alleged a possible conflict of interest involving a City employee. After a thorough investigation, we found no evidence of misconduct or preferential treatment. However, the investigation revealed significant gaps in how the City currently identifies and monitors potential conflicts of interest and outside employment among employees. In response, we have made recommendations aimed at enhancing the City’s oversight in these areas. Key recommendations include updating existing policies, strengthening disclosure requirements, and implementing more robust monitoring processes to better detect and manage potential conflicts of interest.

The City Auditor’s Office remains committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct and transparency to maintain your trust in our government. Thank you for your continued support and commitment to good governance.

You can read the full investigation report here. To find out more about our Office and our latest releases, click here to read our November 2025 Newsletter!

NEW REPORT RELEASED: Performance Audit – Oakland’s Police Emergency Response Times

I am proud to release my Office’s latest audit report titled, Inadequate 9-1-1 Staffing and Outdated Beat Boundaries Lead to Slow and Inequitable Police Emergency Response Times. The report contains findings concerning the Oakland Police Department’s Emergency Communications Center, which handles 9-1-1 calls within Oakland.  

First, the audit found that the Police Department did not meet state timeliness standards for answering 9-1-1 calls in 10 of the past 11 years. Delays were caused by persistent staff vacancies and minimum staffing standards that haven’t been updated to reflect recent trends in emergency call volume. 

The audit also identified disparities in Oaklanders’ access to timely emergency response. For example, a lack of bilingual staff within the Police Department led to its reliance on external interpreters to serve callers with limited English proficiency. Emergency calls that used interpreters were longer than the average 9-1-1 call by five minutes. The audit also found that the median response time for Priority 2 calls—including situations with the potential for violence or property damage, and incidents that have just occurred—was two hours longer in the city’s East Bureau than in its West Bureau.  

Moreover, Oakland’s police beat boundaries—which determine which officers respond to specific calls—have not been updated to reflect current call volume, and existing GPS technology in patrol cars has not been activated to enable the nearest available officers to respond to emergency calls. 

For more details on the audit findings and our 10 recommendations to help improve the Police Department’s response times and service delivery, my team and I invite you to read the full report.