A spokesperson for the Oakland Police Department has said that efforts to overhaul the department are now complete.

Officers will now be assigned to work within one of five districts.  As of last weekend, at least three of them are up and running.   Consultants felt that dividing the city into districts, each being led by a captain, would help with crime fighting efforts.  Increased crime rates have been a big problem for the city within the past several years.

Incidents of violent crime are up, according to city officials, and the Oakland PD has lost hundreds of officers due to layoffs, budget cuts and attrition.

The first two districts were reportedly established two months ago.  They are being led by Captain Kirk Coleman and Captain Steven Tull.  They have been assigned to oversee East Oakland.

Each of the new districts will have school resource officers, patrol officers, and crime reduction teams.  They are also required to put together a community advisory board in order to ensure they are working to address the concerns of local residents.

This is not the first time the Oakland PD has considered districting the force.   The idea was first pitched by hired consultants in 2007.  It was once again brought to the table earlier this year.  The biggest difference between then and now is that the current plan calls for the formation of investigative teams.

These men and women would be responsible for solving robberies and burglaries.

The final three Captains have been named as Eric Louis, Anthony Toribio and Ricardo Orozco.  They will be assigned to West Oakland and downtown, North Oakland and the center-city area, respectively.

Residents and elected officials are hopeful that this will help address recent spikes in crime.   It is too soon to tell if this effort will be successful.