Overall, the number of crimes reported to police are 32 percent below 2023’s statistics up to Aug. 11.
Violent crime is down 12 percent this year, and other than a few exceptions—residential robbery, some violent robberies, and unclassified burglaries—all categories are below last year’s totals.
Robberies declined by 14 percent, and burglaries by 54 percent—including 61 percent fewer auto burglaries—compared with the same period in 2023.
While lower than last year, most categories of crime, however, are higher than 2022—except for burglaries and larceny.
Compared with the three-year average, the numbers are mixed, with residential robberies and motor vehicle thefts higher this year, while most other crimes being reported less frequently.
Some believe, one of the possible reason for the decreases is what are known as “surge operations” by the California Highway Patrol. Ordered by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in February, the agency has since quadrupled the number of its shifts in the area and are pursuing vehicles that flee—as Oakland policies do not allow such in most instances.
The operations have assisted local law enforcement in recent months, helping seize stolen vehicles and firearms.
Ken Houston, a community advocate and director of the nonprofit Beautification Council—which employs justice-impacted and homeless individuals to clean the community—said he’s witnessed the CHP in action and believes they are making a difference in the city.
“They’re out here, and the results are real,” Houston told The Epoch Times. “I see the patrol cars, and it’s a benefit for the community.”
Challenges still exist, however, as he said his nonprofit’s office and some neighboring businesses were recently targeted by thieves.
In the early morning of July 28, 16 small, primarily minority-owned establishments were burglarized, he said.
Six masked individuals cut through multiple fences and smashed glass doors to gain entry into an office complex on the Hegenberger corridor near the airport—an area that has been negatively affected by crime in recent years, resulting in the closure of many businesses, including In-N-Out, Denny’s, and Starbucks, among others.
The intruders kicked open doors throughout the building, stealing cash, electronics, and other items while causing significant damage. Houston estimates the total loss, including repairs, at more than $120,000.
“It was devastating,” he told The Epoch Times.
He said even more enforcement is needed to curb crime and suggested a lack of focus on prosecutions and public safety from Pamela Price, the county’s district attorney, is contributing to the dilemma.
The governor also recently expressed disappointment with the prosecutor’s office.
Seeking to leverage the CHP’s efforts, he announced in July that the state’s Department of Justice will prosecute more cases that originate in Oakland after the district attorney didn’t take advantage of resources he made available earlier this year.
“It was clear to me that there wasn’t a sincere commitment to follow through on the offer,” Newsom said in response to a question from The Epoch Times at a July 11 press conference on the issue.
He said locals need officials to prioritize public safety.
“This moment we’re living in, enough ... it’s a crisis for members of the community,” Newsom said. “People deserve better, people deserve more, and they deserve all of us to be better and do more.”
While the CHP operation is temporary, expected to last for approximately three more months, he said the operation still had much work to do.
“Oakland residents deserve to feel safe in their own city,” Newsom told The Epoch Times by email Aug. 14. “CHP is making it clear that criminal activity will not be tolerated and remains committed to increasing safety across East Bay communities.”
“I am mindful of the sensitivities around vehicle pursuits, which can be dangerous to police, suspects, and innocent bystanders,” Newsom wrote. “But there is also extreme danger to the public in allowing criminals to act with impunity.”
Multiple individuals and community advocates told The Epoch Times they now avoid certain neighborhoods and have installed security cameras and other safeguards to protect themselves.
“I know where I can go and where I can’t,” Sharon Brown, a lifelong Alameda County resident, said. “At night, I avoid some areas that I used to visit because it’s just not safe anymore.”
She said she believes criminals are emboldened by a lack of consequences for some crimes.
“They’re much more dangerous now than they used to be,” Brown said. “So, if I need to go shopping, I’ll go [to a nearby city] because it’s too crazy in Oakland.”
On a recent Tuesday afternoon visit to Oakland, The Epoch Times observed cars being stripped of their parts in broad daylight. Open drug dealing and an abundance of homeless camps in certain areas are also contributing to a sense of unease among residents.
“You’ve got to watch your back and stay away from certain areas,” Brown said. “You don’t want to get caught up in what’s happening out here every day.”
