Nearly three-quarters of Oakland residents live near the scene of a recent fatal shooting, according to a new report published in The New York Times.
"It’s really disturbing, alarming," Councilmember Noel Gallo said. "I'm sad to hear that number."
The article mapped every gun homicide since 2020 and found 47 million Americans nationwide living within a quarter mile of gun violence.
When asked to comment on the numbers, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao's office said it feels the city is turning a corner and noted crime numbers have come down 30% compared to last year.
"Based on our population, we ought to have 803 officers and not 690 officers," Gallo said. "We need to do a better job in bringing more police force to the streets of Oakland."
The police department has been approved for 712 police officers since 2023, but the latest proposed budget calls for freezing vacant positions, which would leave the department with just 678 sworn officers.
The Oakland Police Officers Association said that number doesn't factor in the roughly 80 officers who are currently on leave.
As the debate over where to cut funds to balance the budget continues, a small group rallied in front of City Hall on Wednesday. They accuse Thao of significantly reducing funding for public safety, fire and city services.
"The mayor is not being honest," said Tuan Ngo with the Coalition for Community Engagement. "To be frank, if you look at the budget, we have a huge gaping hole from the mismanagement, and she is drastically cutting."
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In a statement, the mayor's office disputed many of the demonstrators' claims, saying, in part, "Mayor Thao is investing in the basics: public safety and clean streets while avoiding severe service reductions to essential city services and layoffs." They added, "Mayor Thao is also bringing attention to Oakland's long ignored structural budget deficit that precedes her administration."
The Anti-Police Terror Project said it's also concerned about the mayor's proposed budget but for a different reason. The group said it believes police are still receiving too much funding and worry about cuts to the city's public works and human resources departments.
"We are going to push back hard on the idea that when both the city and the state are facing millions of dollars in debt, that what we need to do one more time is increase the Oakland Police Department budget by millions of dollars," Anti-Police Terror Project co-founder Cat Brooks said.
