Out of Control: More Than Homicides

Although Mayor Jerry Brown is most worried about the rise in homicides, because killing stats make the news and hurt the business image of the city and its officials, Oakland residents are suffering a surge in all sorts of crimes.

Robberies spiked up 82 percent, from 447 to 812, comparing just over two months of 2006 with the same period in 2005.

Aggravated assaults went from 406 to 562, a rise of 38 percent.

Even arson fires are up 29 percent, from 42 to 54.

Vehicle thefts are up rather than down, but up only 9 percent, from 1,358 to 1,474. Notice the huge numbers. Oakland was already the number six city in the country for auto thefts.
Figures are from the City report in support of a state of emergency, filed March 10, 2006. http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/attachments/13097.pdf

More than 1,000 people signed the "Enough Is Enough!" petition, dozens of them contributing personal stories of outrageous thug attacks on them followed by the inability of the police to respond. They were telling us the truth. The statistics back them up.

Why the rise in crime? Although homicide figures go up and down in seemingly random waves, the broad rise in Oakland crime is different. The economy is not currently taking a sudden turn; that's not the cause.

Rather, the growing strain on Oakland's half a police department finally broke out in a crisis. The thugs, the less than two percent who victimize the other 98 percent of the city's 400,000 people, have figured it out: in Oakland, crime pays.

Over a ten-year period the city council funded an addition 357 positions in what is now a billion-dollar a year budget – but the number of police remained stagnant. While councilmembers agreed to each other's pork raids for favored little projects, they created the conditions for today's spike in robberies, assaults, arsons, etc.

The only solution is to commit the resources to staff Oakland's police department. Short-term redeployments cannot substitute for a sustained increase in police. We do not need studies. We need at least 1,100 officers. Let the council commit to that minimum; if they want a study to determine how many more than 1,100 are required, there will be plenty of time for that.

In all the scrambling by politicians, not one has committed to at least 1,100 police. Not one has proposed real leadership and a solid plan to get them. Not one has abandoned the petty games that disfigure public life in Oakland.

Who will be robbed next?