Today's the day those new 14 officers and officer trainees officially hit the Oakland police department rolls as part of the $10 million dollar grant from Department of Justice, Office of the Community Policing Hiring program, which provides for the hiring of 25 police officers for Oakland.

 These new officers--all of whom will go through Oakland's police academy--will be deployed to some of Oakland's most crime-plagued neighborhoods as soon as they get out of training.

Some quotes from the spin:

Mayor Jean Quan: "Today marks another step towards reducing crime in our City. "The officers will be assigned to the 100 blocks where 90% of the City's violence crime occurs."

Police Chief Howard Jordan: "This is a great day in Oakland,. Hiring more police officers will definitely help this Department carry out its mission of making Oakland a safer place."

The police officers will be stationed near several middle schools in the 100 blocks identified in the Mayor's 100-block initiative. The Mayor's office says that part of their job will be to get to know the kids and make sure they get to and from school safely.