Bay Area

Homicides in Oakland Fall by 33% in 2024, While Violent Crime Drops by 19%, Says OPD Crime Report

The Oakland Police Department’s most recent crime report indicates that homicides in Oakland are down by 33% compared with the same time last year. Throughout Oakland, 67 homicides occurred so far this year, while at the same point in 2023, there were 100 homicides. The number of violent crimes has declined by 19% in the city in 2024 compared to last year. “This is not an accident,” said Mayor Sheng Thao, who was quoted in Oaklandside, speaking at a press conference. “This is by design. We have reversed a four-year trend of higher crime and more homicides.”

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2024

Oakland Post

Alameda County courthouse. Courtesy photo.

By Ken Epstein

Oakland has seen a “huge drop” in the numbers of homicides and violent crimes, including aggravated assaults, rapes, and robberies, according to journalists reporting on a new police report.

The number of violent crimes has declined by 19% in the city in 2024 compared to last year.

“This is not an accident,” said Mayor Sheng Thao, who was quoted in Oaklandside, speaking at a press conference. “This is by design. We have reversed a four-year trend of higher crime and more homicides.”

Local reporters point to the magnitude of the decline in crime.

Jaime Omar Yassin, a popular independent online reporter published in the Oakland Observer, wrote on X: “Going into (the) election, Oakland hasn’t had a murder in three weeks, only one murder in the entire month. It’s a staggering nearly 50 murders fewer than the City had under the leadership of (D.A.) O’Malley, (OPD Chief) Armstrong, and (Mayor) Schaaf in late October 2021. On track to have lowest homicides in five years.”

Also writing on X, journalist Ali Winston, a co-author of the book, “The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption, and Cover-up in Oakland,” said:

“Oakland hasn’t seen a commensurate drop in homicides in modern history. When we wrote ‘RIDERS,’ Darwin (BondGraham) and I pored over decades of Oakland crime statistics. This is a huge drop, way beyond the standard deviation.”

While many Oakland residents welcome the news of the drop in crime, some of those who support the recalls of elected officials and seek reasons to portray the city negatively are unwilling to recognize improvements in public safety.

Oakland Post Publisher Paul Cobb said he was deeply concerned that the San Francisco Chronicle has been unwilling to publish the OPD’s latest statistics showing a 33% reduction in Oakland homicides and instead continues to report old statistics that fit a narrative of a failing city.

“It’s upsetting to see a major newspaper that will not report about Oakland accurately and honestly,” he said.

This week, the city was awarded a $2 million grant from Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office of Gun Violence Prevention. In a press conference on Wednesday, Mayor Thao said the grant will help the city expand its Ceasefire program, significantly reducing homicides this year.

Ceasefire provides life coaches for people who are in immediate danger of being a perpetrator or victim of a violent crime to break the cycle of retaliation and victimization. The program was discontinued during former Mayor Libby Schaaf’s administration.

“We’re thankful for the significant investment in a strategy that is working in the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), finally being recognized as critical to Oakland’s long-term strategic, comprehensive approach to community health and safety,” said DVP Chief Holly Joshi.

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‘Jim Crow Was and Remains Real in Alameda County (and) It Is What We Are Challenging and Trying to Fix Every Day,’ Says D.A. Pamela Price

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Oakland Awarded $28 Million Grant from Governor Newsom to Sustain Long-Term Solutions Addressing Homelessness

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program. This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Published

8 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program.

This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the Oakland City Administrator’s Office staff held a press conference today to discuss the grant and the City’s successful implementing of the Mayor’s Executive Order on the Encampment Management Policy.

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Bay Area

Pamela Price Appoints Deputy D.A. Jennifer Kassan as New Director of Community Support Bureau

On Monday, District Attorney Pamela Price announced Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan as the new director of the Community Support Bureau. Kassan has over 25 years of experience as an attorney and advisor for mission-driven enterprises including benefit corporations, low-profit limited liability companies, nonprofits, cooperatives, hybrid organizations, investment funds, and purpose trusts.

Published

8 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

On Monday, District Attorney Pamela Price announced Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan as the new director of the Community Support Bureau.

Kassan has over 25 years of experience as an attorney and advisor for mission-driven enterprises including benefit corporations, low-profit limited liability companies, nonprofits, cooperatives, hybrid organizations, investment funds, and purpose trusts.

Working in the DA’s new administration since 2023, Kassan was most recently assigned to the Organized Retail Theft Prosecution team.

Kassan has a master’s degree in City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. She received a National Science Foundation Fellowship from Yale Law School, and graduated from Yale Law School in 1995. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor emphasis in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.

Kassan’s education, extensive legal background, list of notable accomplishments and impressive resume includes helping to found and lead multiple organizations to support community wealth building including:

Community Ventures, a nonprofit organization that promotes locally-based community economic development,
the Sustainable Economies Law Center, a nonprofit that provides legal information, training, and representation to support sustainable economies
the Force for Good Fund, a nonprofit impact investment fund
Crowdfund Main Street, a licensed portal for regulation crowdfunding
Opportunity Main Street, a place-based ecosystem building organization that supports under-represented entrepreneurs and provides education about community-based investing.

In addition, Kassan served as an elected member of the City Council of Fremont, California from 2018 to 2024, and on the Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies.

In 2020 she was named to the list of World-Changing Women in Conscious Business by SOCAP Global.

“We are excited to see Jenny accept the role as the new leader for the Community Support Bureau,” said Price. “She brings a wealth of talent, experience, and a vision to expand our office’s engagement with community groups and residents, that will level-up our

outreach programs and partnerships with local organizations with the aim of promoting crime prevention.

“We thank Interim CSB Director Esther Lemus, who is now assigned to our office’s

Restitution Unit, for her hard work and a great job fostering positive relationships between the DAO and the community.”

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Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s Open Letter to Philip Dreyfuss, Recall Election’s Primary Funder

Oaklanders Defending Democracy, a group opposing the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, shared an open letter she wrote to Philip Dreyfuss of Farallon Capital, a coal hedge fund. According to Thao’s supporters, “Dreyfuss is the primary funder of the recall effort to remove her from office. He has not explained his motivations or answered one question about why he’s funding the recall or what his agenda is for Oakland.

Published

9 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Special to The Post

Publishers note: Oaklanders Defending Democracy, a group opposing the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, shared an open letter she wrote to Philip Dreyfuss of Farallon Capital, a coal hedge fund.

According to Thao’s supporters, “Dreyfuss is the primary funder of the recall effort to remove her from office. He has not explained his motivations or answered one question about why he’s funding the recall or what his agenda is for Oakland.

“All we know about him is his firm has invested over $2 billion in coal since 2022. Farallon Capital is a global hedge fund with $39 billion capital under management, headquartered in San Francisco, the supporters say.

The effort to recall Mayor Sheng Thao was built on top of an argument about a crime wave, pinning the blame for it on a newly elected Mayor. Now that crime has dropped massively, recall proponents are left with no compelling argument.

Oct. 30

Dear Philip Dreyfuss,

We haven’t met. As you know, I’m the Mayor of Oakland, elected in 2022 to serve and protect this city. Since stepping into office, I’ve tackled rising crime, homelessness, and budget challenges head-on, working tirelessly for Oakland’s future.

You are a hedge-fund manager and coal investor who doesn’t live in Oakland who is trying to buy our city government. But the people didn’t elect you, they elected me to protect them from people like you.

Shortly after my term began, you launched a campaign to remove me from office, pouring in nearly $500,000 of your own wealth. We’ll know the outcome of your campaign on Nov. 6, but let’s be clear about what’s at stake.

Since I took office, crime has dropped over 30%—we’re on track for less than 100 homicides for the first time since 2019, with 15,000 fewer crimes overall.

We’ve invested hundreds of millions into affordable housing, modernized our 911 system, streamlined construction permitting, and are fighting to make Oakland a safer and cleaner city.

If your recall succeeds, Oakland will see four mayors in just five years, another election for mayor the following year and a whopping $10 million cost to taxpayers. In other words, chaos. None of this will impact you because you don’t live here.

Oaklanders deserve to know who you are. I looked into your record and found that the hedge fund you help manage, Farallon Capital, has invested over $2 billion in coal since 2022.

For years, Oakland has stood tall against coal money threatening the health of West Oakland, Chinatown, Jack London and downtown.

Did you know that life expectancy in West Oakland is 7.5 years lower than the County average? Or that our children suffer from asthma at a rate twice as high as the rest of the County?

Philip, instead of trying to use your wealth to hijack our democracy and create chaos in our city you could have put your money where your mouth is.

Instead of investing in coal you could have invested in our young people—created scholarships for our college-bound kids, funded apprenticeships for those who want to learn a trade or helped rid our schools of lead.

Instead, you chose to divide us while you try to buy us. But I’m here to tell you, Philip, on behalf of the 450,000 residents of my city that Oakland is not for sale. NO to coal. NO to chaos. And NO to your selfish and self-serving recall.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, City Hall, Oakland