California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the deployment of hundreds of California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers to Oakland amid a disturbing crime surge.
While the rate of violent crime and other felonies fell in 2023 in the largest cities in the United States, the numbers rose for Oakland. Police data showed that the city has seen an increase of 38% in robberies, 23% in burglaries, and 44% in motor vehicle theft. Roughly one of every 30 residents of Oakland had a car stolen last year.
The state governor on Tuesday announced that he was taking action to address the rising number of crimes in the city. He would deploy 120 CHP officers to Oakland and the surrounding area to conduct a law enforcement surge operation.
The aim of the operation will be to crack down on crime, including vehicular theft, retail theft, and violent crime. In a statement, Newsom said that what is happening in the beautiful city is alarming and unacceptable, as per CNN.
For months now, business owners in Oakland have been pleading for help as they have been struggling with the current situation. The owner of a community food center for low-income families, Nigel Jones, said that his establishment was vandalized and had its glass doors smashed.
Jones immigrated to the United States from Jamaica when he was 16 years old and later made Oakland his new home. The resident, who is a chef and restaurateur, currently owns two Jamaican restaurants, Calabash and Kingston 11. He said that he is passionate about helping the city's disadvantaged families.
However, he noted that residents and businesses have pulled back from the city due to the rapid rise in crime and public safety concerns. In September last year, Jones and other downtown Oakland business owners walked off the jobs for a day to demand city and state leaders improve safety in the area.
Deploying CHP Officers to Oakland
Newsom's latest operation marks a 900% increase in state law enforcement personnel that are stationed in the affected areas. The situation in the city has also prompted its only In-N-Out and Denny's restaurants to close after years of providing food for the residents of the region, according to Fox News.
Several other businesses, including Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente, have issued a warning to their employees, recommending that they stay inside buildings for lunch. This was after a string of robberies affected employees who went to eat at local business establishments.
Many businesses have also opted to provide security guards to escort employees to public transportation, parking garages, and restaurants in fear of crimes. The situation comes as last September, Newsom approved the distribution of more than $267 million to local police and sheriff's departments and district attorney's officers throughout California.
The money was meant to help fight organized retail theft in the region. The funding went to the creation of task forces, hiring and training of staff, and purchasing of new technologies. There were 55 awardees who received money from the program but Oakland received no funds because it missed the application deadline, said NBC Bay Area.
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