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Oakland, overwhelmed by crime: Police advise neighbors to use air horns to warn of intruders

Burglaries increased 41% in the city while robberies climbed 20% more than last year.

Imagen de archivo de un coche de la Policía de Oakland, California.

(Wikimedia Commons).

Published by
Rosana Rábago Sainz

The citizens of Oakland, California, are facing an unprecedented crime wave. The streets are increasingly unsafe and crime is on the rise. In response to this, CNN reports, the local police recommended that neighbors use air horns to protect their homes as well as create barriers on doors and windows to prevent intruders from entering:

Tori Bird is a neighbor who decided to follow this advice. As she told CNN, she has three air horns inside her house and five security cameras surrounding her home:

People aren’t feeling safe outside of their house. It makes sense that you would want to protect your house then, right? You would barricade it. The types of crime that we’re seeing feel much more violent and the consequences feel much more severe. And it feels like the people that are being targeted are people who are vulnerable.

Increase in robberies, assaults and thefts in Oakland

According to NBC data, vehicle thefts and assaults have doubled in 2023 when compared to those reported in the same period in 2019, meanwhile, carjackings have tripled.

Homes are not safe either and, warns the city's Police Department, burglaries "increased 41%" while robberies climbed "more than 20%." The only good news is that homicides are down 14% compared to 2022.

However, other types of crime continue and the police do not seem to be able to deal with them. For this reason, their social networks are filled with recommendations for citizens, so that they can protect themselves from different types of crimes:

Meanwhile, the Oakland Police Department continues to try to recruit new officers to bolster local security. Darren Allison, interim chief of the department, said that they are aware of the increase in crime but that what they need are more officers on the streets. Currently, he explained, they have 715 officers.

However, they need many more. To cope with the volume of reported crime, said Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, they would have to have about 1,200 officers on the streets.

Mayor asks Governor Newsom for help in dealing with crime wave

A problem that the local mayor, Sheng Thao, is trying to solve. According to a statement, she requested additional support from the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, to increase security in the town. And the application was approved:

Strong partnerships are critical in making our City safer. Our comprehensive community safety approach includes both accountability for those who commit crime as well as prevention and deterrence efforts to stop crime before it occurs. I am grateful to Gov. Newsom for granting my request for additional support. Working collaboratively with the Office of the Governor, California Highway Patrol and other state and regional partners allows us to expand our impact and meet the need in the community. I’m thankful to all those who work tirelessly each day to reach our shared goal of building a safe city for all.
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