OAKLAND, CA- In an Oakland news conference on Friday pertaining to the city’s partnership with the California Highway Patrol, Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he is extending the agreement between the City Government and the state past the original Dec. 31 deadline, but with a catch.
Newsom has warned the Oakland Police Commission that it must change the city’s existing non-pursuit policy.
As reported by Bay City News, the agreement between Oakland and California began in 2023 when Newsom’s administration responded to a request from the previous Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao as the city struggled with rising crime rates. CHP officers were subsequently assigned to patrol the city alongside the Oakland PD.
Newsom told the gathered press that the state still has “the city’s back,” and expressed a willingness to continue the CHP’s assignment
According to the outlet the number of officers quadrupled in July, increasing from 42 to 162 weekly shift assignments to coincide with the installation of a network of 480 Flock surveillance cameras in and around the city’s jurisdiction.
The governor touted the success of the CHP in 2024 saying the state officers had arrested over 1,400 suspects and recovered over $13 million in stolen items. Newsom openly criticized the Oakland PD pursuit policy telling the press conference “Someone that literally puts people’s lives at risk, that occurs right in front of an officer in a vehicle, that officer cannot (pull them over) under this extreme pursuit policy here in Oakland.”
In a radical departure from the typically anti-law enforcement measures that abound in California Newsom stressed the need for reform to empower the Oakland PD, “We’re at that point in time that we need to see some commensurate support and reforms and changes as it relates to policing. Here in Oakland, in order to consider extending this state subsidized partnership, we specifically are going to need to see changes in the pursuit policy.”
Oakland Interim Mayor and City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas released a statement during the presser saying “Over the past year, Oakland has dramatically reduced crime in all categories with an overall reduction of 34%. CHP’s sustained presence in Oakland allows OPD to focus resources on responding to calls for service and addressing violent crime through our intelligence-based Ceasefire strategy. We greatly appreciate the CHP’s targeted enforcement of traffic violations, auto-theft, sideshows, and seizure of illegal guns and look forward to continuing this important partnership in 2025."
Newsom has warned the Oakland Police Commission that it must change the city’s existing non-pursuit policy.
As reported by Bay City News, the agreement between Oakland and California began in 2023 when Newsom’s administration responded to a request from the previous Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao as the city struggled with rising crime rates. CHP officers were subsequently assigned to patrol the city alongside the Oakland PD.
Newsom told the gathered press that the state still has “the city’s back,” and expressed a willingness to continue the CHP’s assignment
According to the outlet the number of officers quadrupled in July, increasing from 42 to 162 weekly shift assignments to coincide with the installation of a network of 480 Flock surveillance cameras in and around the city’s jurisdiction.
The governor touted the success of the CHP in 2024 saying the state officers had arrested over 1,400 suspects and recovered over $13 million in stolen items. Newsom openly criticized the Oakland PD pursuit policy telling the press conference “Someone that literally puts people’s lives at risk, that occurs right in front of an officer in a vehicle, that officer cannot (pull them over) under this extreme pursuit policy here in Oakland.”
In a radical departure from the typically anti-law enforcement measures that abound in California Newsom stressed the need for reform to empower the Oakland PD, “We’re at that point in time that we need to see some commensurate support and reforms and changes as it relates to policing. Here in Oakland, in order to consider extending this state subsidized partnership, we specifically are going to need to see changes in the pursuit policy.”
Oakland Interim Mayor and City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas released a statement during the presser saying “Over the past year, Oakland has dramatically reduced crime in all categories with an overall reduction of 34%. CHP’s sustained presence in Oakland allows OPD to focus resources on responding to calls for service and addressing violent crime through our intelligence-based Ceasefire strategy. We greatly appreciate the CHP’s targeted enforcement of traffic violations, auto-theft, sideshows, and seizure of illegal guns and look forward to continuing this important partnership in 2025."
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