Gov. Newsom deploys 120 more CHP officers to Oakland to fight violent crime
In an effort to combat crime in Oakland and the East Bay, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced an additional deployment of 120 California Highway Patrol officers for a targeted law enforcement surge.
According to the press release issued by the governor's office, the increased temporary deployment of the additional CHP officers will include specialized units "and advanced investigative technology to crack down on crime and improve public safety." The officers will be working in partnership with local law enforcement including the Oakland Police Department and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office in "a targeted crackdown on criminal activity, including vehicle theft, retail theft, and violent crime."
This deployment is not the first time Newsom has used the California Highway Patrol to increase law enforcement presence in the Bay Area. CHP were already deployed to Oakland back in August of last year in an effort to combat a string of high-profile carjackings and other armed robberies. He also deployed CHP and National Guard personnel in San Francisco to fight the fentanyl trafficking crisis in October.
"As crime rates across California decrease — including right across the Bay in San Francisco — Oakland is seeing the opposite trend. What's happening in this beautiful city and surrounding area is alarming and unacceptable," Newsom was quoted as saying in the release. "I'm sending the California Highway Patrol to assist local efforts to restore a sense of safety that the hardworking people of Oakland and the East Bay demand and deserve."
The operation will utilize a "multi-pronged approach" with the aim of deterring ongoing problem crimes including carjackings and auto theft, cargo theft, retail crime and violent crime. In addition to employing high-visibility traffic enforcement, CHP will use license plate reader technology and specialized units such as K9 units and air support.
The release said the enhanced law enforcement presence will represent a nearly 900% increase in CHP personnel in Oakland and within Alameda County.
There are some who think Oakland officials sent the wrong message to criminals when they reduced funding for the police department. They think it's time to put more cops on the city's streets.
With the call for racial justice during the pandemic, much of the discussion in Oakland focused on limiting the size and role of law enforcement. Since then, violence and property crimes in the city have skyrocketed. President of the Oakland Police Officers Association Sgt. Huy Nguyen said it may have convinced the criminal element that anything goes.
"That's the message that we are hearing from community members, and we get it. And we're trying our best with the resources that we have," Nguyen said. "Here, if you have extra resources, it prevents people from making those decisions. And especially in a city where people sense that it's a free-for-all."
"He is deploying 120 CHP, which is, what, almost one sixth of our police force in Oakland? Which is huge!" said Carl Chan, a public safety activist who has spoken out about the need for more police, both in Chinatown and throughout the city.
He and a group of business leaders and private citizens met with Newsom in January to request the help. There were no elected officials from Oakland present at the meeting.
"I think there's a strong message from all of us. Number one, we're going to make sure that people committing crimes -- there has to be consequences," said Chan.
But not everyone is happy about it. Founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project Cat Brooks has been a consistent voice for those trying to fight police abuse against people of color.
"It's going to be 120 officers, and I guarantee you it's going to be a lot more violence against our community members," said Brooks. "Because what the data absolutely bears out is, more police presence, more unnecessary contact between our communities and law enforcement, more police violence."
She acknowledged that crime is on the rise, but said what's needed are efforts to prevent the mayhem before its committed and the police are called.
"People want the murders to stop," said Brooks. "They want the violent hijackings to stop. Police do not do that."
But Chan counters that what the city has been doing hasn't helped.
"I think the message is out there, saying that defunding the police is not what people want. And it doesn't work," he said.
Oakland has faced some challenges in the past year as far as getting assistance fighting crime from state officials. Last fall, while a number of Bay Area law enforcement agencies qualified to receive millions of dollars in funding to help fight organized retail theft, Oakland was disqualified from the application process because they submitted their proposal too late.
Oakland has seen an alarming spike in businesses shutting down that have cited increased crime and safety concerns as the main reason for closing locations in the city. Among the more high-profile closures in the troubled Hegenberger corridor were the recent shuttering of the only Denny's restaurant in Oakland and the planned March closing of the In-N-Out Burger location in the same area.
The Oakland Police Department also suffered a blow with the shooting death of Officer Tuan Le in late December during a break-in at a marijuana dispensary near Jack London Square. The department has been without a chief for nearly a year after Mayor Sheng Thao dismissed police chief LeRonne Armstrong last February.
Everyone has their own perceptions, based on their own experiences. People who have been robbed see more police as protection. Those who have been abused by cops see it as a threat. So for at least a while, there will be more officers on the streets of Oakland. Only time will tell if it will make much of a difference.