Creating a Safer Oakland for All

About

Violent crime is something that touches all of us and I take it very seriously, which is why community safety is a priority for my Administration. I stepped into this role as a survivor of violence and have members on my leadership team whose lives have been directly and tragically impacted by violent crime.

As Mayor, I am committed to working with community partners and across agencies to ensure we are doing everything we can to both prevent violence and hold people accountable for carrying out crimes in our city. This work will require a sustained, multi-pronged approach, and already the City has taken steps toward addressing crime by increasing resources in the budget toward public safety, partnering with agencies, community-based organizations and faith-based organizations, gathering community input to inform policy, and addressing root causes, such as barriers to housing, education, and employment.

The City of Oakland is united as One Oakland in working to not only solve crimes when they occur, but to prevent them from happening. To that end, the City has taken several steps to improve community safety.

Traffic Safety. The Oakland Police Department and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department are working in partnership to combat illegal sideshows, with an intentional focus on hotspots. This involves proactive investigations, which help them identify potential sideshow locations as well as dedicated units to respond when sideshows occur. In addition, the City of Oakland has secured grant funding in partnership with Alameda County Sheriff's department to prevent DUI-related accidents. The partnership has a special focus on the summer season and also integrates crime hotspot data to identify the most strategic locations.
Increasing capacity for investigations: My budget continues Oakland’s efforts to civilianize certain functions of the Police Department by moving the responsibility for Internal investigations from OPD to the Community Police Review Agency. This will allow civilian investigators to look into matters related to internal affairs while the trained police investigators currently in the IA unit can transfer to, and focus on, other critical community safety units in need of officers.
Reinvesting in traffic divisions and foot patrols: Eight sworn staff dedicated to foot patrol and 7 sworn staff dedicated to traffic units.
Running 6 police academies over the next two years, increasing the number of officers from an average of approximately 700 last fiscal year to a projected average of over 730 in this fiscal year
MACRO: My budget expanded investment in Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO), civilian responders who respond to a range of crises that do not require sworn officers, freeing up our police officers to focus on violent crime.
Increasing coordination among the city’s public safety departments for more effective response and strengthening of resources.
Domestic-related gun violence. Since the pandemic we have seen an increase in domestic-related gun violence. The City has doubled the budget for gender-based violence.
Gang- and group-related violence. My office initiated a comprehensive audit of the Ceasefire Initiative, a partnership between the Oakland Police Department, the Department of Violence Prevention, community-based organizations, and faith-based organizations. This is an initiative focused on gang and group violence.
School-based violence prevention. The Department of Violence Prevention has invested more than $2M in the creation of violence intervention and prevention teams (VIP), which include violence interrupters (individuals impacted by gun violence who serve as credible messengers); gender-based violence specialists; and life coaches. In addition, the City will be facilitating a school community safety summit in June to bring together school and community leaders to build capacity and strengthen coordination on violence prevention.
Human trafficking and gun violence. Communities with high incidents of human trafficking have higher incidents of gun violence, leaving residents and nearby residents vulnerable. My office is launching a Mayor’s Advisory council on human trafficking to address and prevent human trafficking.
Root cause. We know that meaningful and effective crime prevention requires addressing root causes. Issues such recidivism and barriers to housing, education, and employment are root causes of violent crime. By securing critical resources, my office is supporting TAYHub (transitional-aged youth), which provides in-depth support, wraparound services (health, wellness, social, emotional, etc.), a technical education center with hands-on job training on real life equipment in several trades, a space for athletic programs, a student-run cafe, and additional services and support for OUSD students and family.
Community input. We understand that we cannot address crime without input and participation from the communities we serve. Talk Transitions is a citywide engagement process that invites residents of all backgrounds to provide input through a survey. These responses will be used to identify priority areas and empower residents to co-construct potential policies. Crime will be a key part of the survey.
Enhanced Youth Service Referral Pipeline: The DVP, OUSD and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and Probation are collaborating to create referrals to DVP programs and services specifically for juveniles involved in crime or violence.
Family Matters Program Pilot: The DVP is offering family-centered coaching focused on strengthening family functioning and communication to reduce the risk of violence.
Triangle Incident Response: This 24/7 real-time, coordinated crime scene response aims to reduce retaliatory group/gang-related violence; lessen the levels of trauma suffered by individuals, families and community members; and improve police-community relations.

In addition, I recently announced a new partnership with Governor Newsom and the California Highway Patrol to support the City’s efforts to prevent crime. In collaboration with the Oakland Police Department (OPD), my office secured State support to expand community safety strategies underway in the City. This new partnership includes the deployment of CHP officers to assist in traffic enforcement along high injury corridors in Oakland. The goal is to target reckless driving, auto theft, sideshows and highway shootings while allowing OPD officers to focus their efforts on solving violent crime.

As a City, we’ve worked hard to make it safer. We know we need to do more. We have to be collaborative and we have to be innovative. This is not an either/or issue: We are not going to have true and lasting safety if we only focus on services, or only on accountability—or any one solution. Our community safety approach requires all of the above and I am resolved to do everything I can to champion violence prevention and push for accountability so that all Oaklanders can live, work, play and learn in a safe and healthy environment.

Sheng Thao,

Mayor of Oakland

Talking Transition:

I recently announced the launch of the Talking Transition Oakland Survey, which will be used to gather insights that will help shape the agenda of my Administration and the future of Oakland. Oaklanders are invited to share their thoughts on critical issues that impact daily lives, including the city’s housing, community safety, and economic development. As part of the effort and to encourage our next generation of civil servants and community organizers, we are employing Youth Data Fellows, ages 16 through 24, to help spread the word and drive responses in underrepresented communities.

Take the Talking Transition Survey Today:

https://www.research.net/r/talkingtransition

The survey is also available in:

Spanish: https://www.research.net/r/talkingtransition?lang=es
Chinese:https://www.research.net/r/talkingtransition?lang=zh
Vietnamese:https://www.research.net/r/talkingtransition?lang=vi

What?

Talking Transition Oakland is a citywide community engagement effort to develop a path forward that City Hall, community organizations, and philanthropy can move on together, all the while centering Oakland’s youth and building their capacity as the city's future leaders. Talking Transition is a partnership between community leaders, the Office of Mayor Sheng Thao, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, and City Administrator Johnson, implemented with support from local philanthropic partners.

Why?

It’s a new administration, but the same Oakland. We want to build an agenda for and with residents that will raise the bar for city government. Talking Transition builds on previous civic engagement efforts, strengthens partnerships between government and community leaders, and trains and empowers our youth to participate in local government in a new way.

How can you get involved?

Take the Survey:

We want 5,000 Oaklanders to share what’s important to you around housing and homelessness, community safety, and economic opportunity. Take the 10-minute survey today and tell your friends, families, and networks to do the same – your insights will help shape the agenda of Mayor Thao’s administration and the future of the city.

Join Town Talks:

Come out to public events on September 9, September 16, and September 23 (location TBD) to meet government officials, learn how Oakland’s government works, and share your experiences and ideas to make Oakland better for all.

Spread the Word!

This effort needs to uplift the underrepresented voices of Oakland – we know not everyone can take an online survey or come to a public event, but we want to reach everyone. If you can help connect Oaklanders with Talking Transition or have an idea of how we can do so better, please reach out at talkingtransitionoakland@gmail.com.

Backpack Giveaway:

My team and I had an amazing time at a backpack giveaway at Youth Uprising in East Oakland. This event was organized by Surviving Struggles foundation, The Homeplace Collective, and Youth Uprising. Community members were welcome to come, grab a new backpack with school supplies, enjoy some food and live entertainment, and get connected with essential community programs.

Thank you everyone who came together to build community and celebrate our youth!

OPD Ride Along:

I would like to thank Oakland Police Department Sergeant Gabriel Urquiza for taking me, my team, and City Administrator Johnson on a ride along Friday night. We stopped to visit the patrol lineup at the Eastmont Substation and expressed how much their service to our city is appreciated.

If you or someone you know is interested in working for OPD, you can apply at OPDJOBS.COM

Celebrating Caribbean American Heritage Month:

Our diversity is our strength and our Caribbean American Community is a huge part of that strength. This is why my office was thrilled to participate in the Caribbean American Heritage Month celebration at Cocobreeze here in Oakland. It was my absolute pleasure to honor Chef Anabelle and the dozens of Caribbean American leaders that make Oakland a better place to live.

You can check out Cocobreeze for some delicious Trinadad cuisine at their location on 2370 High Street. They are open Wednesday's, Friday's, and Saturdays from 11am – 8pm. Check out their website here.

National Night Out:

Thank you Oakland for another amazing National Night Out! With hundreds of events across the city featuring thousands of participants, the 40th annual national night out was a huge success. My office was out in force attending dozens of events across Oakland, connecting directly with our communities and ensuring our residents have a direct line to our office.

Huge thank you to everyone who hosted or participated and thank you to our staff in the Oakland Police Department, Oakland Fire Department, Oakland Department of Violence Prevention, MACRO, and everyone else who participated. Special shoutout to Angela Moore from our Neighborhood Services Division, who helped lead the organizing effort on the city side.

7th Street Grade Separation East Project:

I was thrilled to participate in the ribbon cutting and groundbreaking of the 7th Street Grade Separation East Project, which will have the dual benefit of reducing truck emissions impacts in West Oakland at the same time as we strengthen the efficiency and economic competitiveness of our Port.

The Project will completely replace an aging structure under the railroad, which not only addresses a critical safety need but will also seize this opportunity to build it back better.

The Project includes construction of a brand-new accessible multi-use path from the Bay Trail to commercial areas along 7th Street and to Downtown Oakland.

Huge thank you again to our staff and leaders at OakDOT, the Port, the Alameda CTC, MTC, California Transportation Commission, California State Transportation Agency, Union Pacific, the Federal Highway Administration, and the US Department of Homeland Security.