Oakland's police chief says crime is trending down.
Chief Floyd Mitchell said Friday the latest numbers show his department's crime strategies are working, even as the department struggles with ongoing staffing and budget troubles.
"There is a lot of work still to be done, but what we are doing right now is showing benefits and that's evident in the reduction of the crime that we're seeing," he said.
The department held what it called a public safety meeting Friday to help highlight several arrests linked to four recent homicides and a recent uptick in robberies. Arrests linked to gangs and prostitution were also discussed.
Those arrests include three suspects accused of killing a mother of eight as she confronted alleged drug dealers.
Mitchell credited cease-fire operations, outside agency support and proactive measures like saturation patrols for the overall drop in crime.
He also addressed criticism about his department's sometimes slow response to so-called lower priority crimes like car break-ins or burglaries.
"What I would ask is for people to try to understand that we are going to get to you," he said. "I don’t like where we are now, but from a staffing issue we have to stay within the prioritization of this."
New police numbers show nearly all crime is down compared to the same time last year.
Mitchell also acknowledged recent criticism coming from the union that represents rank and file officers, saying he knows property crime numbers can lag sometimes, potentially skewing the data. He also said a new system is in the works to fix that.
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Not everyone is sold on the numbers. Oakland’s NAACP branch said its rooting for the chief but worries that the department's current staffing levels will make it hard to sustain the drop in crime long-term.
"He is doing an outstanding job. He is doing the best job that he can, remember with the police officers that he’s got," Bishop Bob Jackson said. "It's not going to be enough. It's not going to be sustainable. Then we are burning them in with overtime and whatnot and so forth like that. It's just a real crisis that we are having right now and it is all predicated on money."
Police said a number of the people who have been arrested are not from Oakland. Councilmember Noel Gallo believes there needs to be a stricter enforcement of laws throughout the city.
"That’s an area that is missing here in the city of Oakland," he said. "Go to Oakland, you can do X, Y, Z and get away with it. We need to stop that behavior."
Meanwhile, police said arrests are only half the equation, noting they also need the county district attorney to prosecute the cases they're bringing to her office.
"We are going to continue to present the cases to her and we are going to continue to advocate for the victims of this city because that's who it affects," Mitchell said.
