Rising incidents of crime in Oakland, California, are affecting quality of life, causing some to flee, and leading to calls by some community associations for more law enforcement amid a wave of violence.
While down slightly year-over-year, homicides have jumped 40 percent since 2019, with Oakland police reporting that every other category of crime shows an increase compared to last year and since before the pandemic.
Also, compared to 2019, assaults and auto break-ins have doubled, and carjackings have tripled, according to FBI statistics.
Additionally, the city rated a 1—the lowest possible score out of 100—meaning it is safer than less than 1 percent of areas across the country, according to online real estate market data firm Neighborhood Scout.
Public protests are now routine at Oakland City Council meetings, and letters to officials are pouring in, with frightened and angry residents and organizations expressing discontent.
At a July hearing with the Alameda County District Attorney and sheriff to discuss the ongoing crime wave, audience members told officials about their recent encounters.
“While I’m driving, I’m pulled out of my car at gunpoint,” one woman said. “What are we doing to address this? How do we solve this? Nobody feels safe.”
Failed Leadership, Anti-Police Rhetoric Are to Blame: NAACP
Community safety advocates are also reaching out to administrators asking for immediate action to halt the violence.
“Oakland residents are sick and tired of our intolerable public safety crisis that overwhelmingly impacts minority communities,” the Oakland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, better known as the NAACP, said in a July 27 letter to elected officials. “We call on all elected leaders to unite and declare a state of emergency and bring together massive resources to address our public safety crisis.”
The group blames criminal justice reform and efforts to minimize policing for the recent rise in crime.
