Audit gives Oakland a clear path to bring back "Ceasefire" program
As Oakland continues to try to figure out how to address crime in the city, a new audit shows how an earlier strategy that was once credited for bringing gun violence to a historic low should be reinstated.
The Oakland Ceasefire Strategy focused on direct intervention with the people most at risk of committing crimes.
Supporters of cease-fire say it made a big difference reducing street violence in 2019 when Oakland had a low of 78 homicides. Ironically, one of the original officers involved in the program when it was first rolled out in 2012 was LeRonne Armstrong, who Thao fired over misconduct charges last year.
But things changed after the pandemic, with the homicide rate rising to a 15-year high in 2021. The death toll has stayed over 100 ever since.
For Dominic Prado, he constantly worries about the lack of business at his restaurant in the Fruitvale.
"Some of us are not going to make it. Some of us have already left," said Prado.
He said many people won't come down to the area because of the rampant crime. Prado said he went to jail in the 1990s for robbery, and he knows firsthand how programs like Ceasefire are critical to reducing violence.
"Increase the capacity with Ceasefire and engage these kids to give them something to live for, give them something before they throw their life away," said Prado.
Ceasefire is a gun violence reduction program that started back in 2012. Community and religious leaders would meet with police every week to talk about recent shootings, figure out who might be planning to retaliate, then talk with those people to calm things down and prevent future shootings.
Based on the numbers reported in the audit, it worked. When COVID hit in 2020, those in-person meetings were no longer allowed.
"It didn't have the same impact, but we tried to do what was right and tried to reach out to those that may be involved or have been involved in gun violence," said Pastor Billy Dixon Jr, who is one of the violence interrupters who will talk with those at highest risk of either committing or being victims of gun violence.
According to the Office of Violence Prevention, about 350 to 400 Oakland residents — or less than 1% of the city's population — are the drivers of the majority of gun violence.
"We really need to prioritize a return to serving those at the center of violence. The most at-risk individuals who are in imminent danger of being involved in shootings and homicides," said Dr. Holly Joshi, the new head of Oakland's Department of Violence Prevention.
She said the audit helps to give the city a clear path forward with crime reduction.