OAKLAND, CA - What is going on in Oakland? KGO-7 reports that in 2023, the Oakland Police Department reported to the California DOJ that an abysmal three percent of the city’s violent crimes resulted in an arrest, while for property crimes, it was only 0.1 percent.
“Their clearance rate was abysmal, now it’s practically nothing; they are just not solving crimes,” said Mike Males with the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.
The only problem is that the numbers are inaccurate.
The issue apparently lies with how the Oakland PD compiles its data. While the reported data shows Oakland is among the worst-performing departments in solving crimes, the department said the information reported in 2023 is not accurate due to “an anomaly. "
“The 2023 stats are just, they are just off the charts, there’s no way that these could be correct, yes, it’s the Oakland PD that’s the problem here,” said Males.
According to KGO-7, Oakland appears to have a data problem.
“They don’t seem to even know how many crimes are being committed in the city. The numbers they report publicly are different from what they are reporting to the California Department of Justice,” the outlet said. “According to the inaccurate stats they reported to the state, violent crimes have more than doubled, aggravated assaults more than tripled, motor vehicle thefts have also more than doubled.”
The outlet contacted the department for comment; however, they refused an interview request. They also contacted the Oakland Police Officers Association, who declined comment.
Community members say the numbers do not lie–the Oakland PD is failing to deter crime.
“Police have a job to do, so to hear that crimes are not being solved that is concerning, but it’s familiar,” said Tenisch Hollins with the Californians for Safety and Justice, a public safety advocacy group. “When you talk to people whose cars have been broken into or their property has been stolen, you hear that they don’t even bother calling the police because they don’t think they will show up, the responsibility for them to file a police report is put back on them.”
In contrast, San Francisco and San Jose reported that 28 percent and 35 percent of their violent crimes resulted in an arrest, respectively. Property crimes saw lower clearance rates, with San Francisco clearing five percent of cases while San Jose cleared seven percent.
Compare Oakland to San Pablo, which has a similar racial breakdown as the former. In 2023, that department cleared 53 percent of all violent crimes via arrest, while 23 percent of property crimes were solved.
“We have 100 [percent] coverage of our city of gunshot detection, we have over 290 situational awareness cameras, and have over 85 license plate readers, so all of that with the use of technology, our officers become more effective in solving crime,” said Capt. Singh of the SPPD.
Singh was asked how clearance rates are defined.
“So clearance rate, the way we report it to DOJ is through an arrest. Anytime a crime is committed, and we make an arrest related to that case, it’s considered clear.”
Contrast San Pablo to Oakland, which is only now installing 290 cameras on surface streets, while an additional 190 will be added on state highways. The Oakland City Council also decided to continue funding its gunshot detection system.
“We want to see policing done effectively and equitably and fairly, not in a way that over penalizes our community, but not doing your job at all is not sufficient either,” said Hollins.
Meanwhile, Oakland’s crime problem may cost the city’s mayor, Sheng Thao, her job, as city residents are set to vote on a recall measure during Tuesday’s election, NBC Bay Area reported. The FBI raided her home and properties owned by a politically connected family that controls the city’s recycling contract in June. Authorities haven’t divulged what they are investigating specifically.
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