The Rockridge neighborhood has always been considered one of the safer areas in Oakland, but with crime increasing, many say something needs to be done.
The community gathered Tuesday night after a 63-year-old woman was attacked outside Market Hall last Sunday.
Police say the attackers were part of a group of nine teens and pre-teens -- busted for dozens of robberies.
Oakland city leaders, police, residents and business owners gathered at Oakland Tech to talk about the incident and recent uptick in crime.
The discussion quickly got heated.
“We’re almost encouraging this type of behavior and we’re not doing the little things. All I hear you talking about is, 'we can’t do this because of this limitation, we can’t do that,'” said Adam Stemmler.
He owns Arthur Mac’s Tap and Snack on Martin Luther King Jr Way.
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He says his pizza shop has been broken into several times. His workers don’t feel safe and his customers get their cars broken into.
He spoke directly to city councilmember Dan Kalb at the meeting.
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“Dan, with all due respect, you ignore us,” he said. “My business person emails you all the time."
Kalb hosted the meeting, along with the Oakland Police Department and Department of Violence Prevention.
“People are rightfully concerned and have certain fears about it that I totally understand and I share those concerns and frustrations,” said Kalb.
There have been about a dozen robberies in the Rockridge neighborhood so far this year.
In total, the city of Oakland has had more than 900 robberies this year, according to crimemapping.com.
Nearly 60% involved a gun and about 30% were strong-arm robberies.
So, what’s the answer?
“The key is we need to hold them accountable. To hold these perpetrators accountable. That could involve various psychological testing, programs they must be required to go through, probation while they’re temporarily incarcerated, all sorts of things can happen. But nothing can happen if you don’t catch these people. So you have to catch them, then give them appropriate consequences,” said Kalb.
Residents say they’re frustrated, but still hopeful, and it’s all easier said than done.
“We’re underfunded, we’re understaffed, we’re under-resourced and it kind of feels like the ‘Wild West’ where we’re at. And for us, it’s really about safety. We love Oakland,” said Stemmler.
