Car break-ins or “bipping” in the Bay Area may be switching gears, at least in Oakland.
Bay Area bipping has been on the rise since 2021. Now, preliminary data from Oakland police show October's break-ins numbers are down.
This September, Oakland resident “Big True” said it took less than 10 minutes after he parked his car on Lakeshore for thieves to steal $7,000 of camera equipment from his trunk.
While auto burglaries for the year are up 35% from 2022, they have dropped significantly in the past few months.
“I can’t say that. I just want to see it just go down. But I want to see those people when they are caught, consequences do help. It’s a culture,” Big True said.
Prior to the pandemic, in October 2019, Oakland saw more than 1,400 car burglaries. On June 2020, during lockdown, that number dropped to around 300. The car break-ins skyrocketed back to over 1,500.
But they have been declining ever since. Preliminary numbers show in October, Oakland reached a low of around 650 reported car burglaries.
Oakland police credit their new taskforce that partners with the California Highway Patrol to crackdown on auto burglaries.
“That tells me are in the right direction, focusing on the groups or gangs that we know are involved and these type of auto burglaries,” said Eriberto Perez-Angeles with Oakland police.
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In the month since launching the taskforce, Oakland police have arrested seven people. Investigators average one operation a week using marked vehicles, plain clothes officers and foot patrols to canvas known high crime areas. Many times, they are catching thieves in the act.
“As long as it’s working and we are producing results, I think we should stay the course,” Perez-Angeles said.
The Oakland Police Department plans to continue the taskforce long-term, but some former burglary victims hope root causes will also be addressed.
“A one-time band-aide isn’t an overall solution. There needs to be structural changes so that these inequities don’t continue moving forward,” said Oakland resident Gabriel Garcia.
Restaurant owner Dorcia White told NBC Bay Area that while she is happy and encouraged the numbers are down, she is still seeing broken glass outside Everette and Jones. She hopes fewer break-ins turn into safer streets.
“We are on life support right now in Oakland,” White said. “If we don’t want a bunch of boarded out windows, it has to continue until they know laws change. It’s not OK to take other people’s property.”
