Thank you. It's all so disheartening, but having established facts at hand to combat the gaslighting from the social utopia/communism crowd is very helpful as people on either side of an issue can always joust with anecdotes. I'm hopeful things can be turned around, but for some reason there is a great asymmetry in that good leadership takes a long time to build things that bad leadership can wreck in a year.
I've been living in Oakland since 2001. Both of my children were born in Oakland. Aside from a two year stint in Lake Merritt, which is where I lived when I moved here from San Francisco in 2001, I've always lived deep in East Oakland, near the Oakland Zoo. I've been a staunch defender of Oakland over the years, constantly and forcibly pushing back on the perception of my colleagues - especially those that live in places like Palo Alto or Mountain View - that Oakland was a dangerous place that should be avoided at all costs. But now I find that I cannot with a clear conscience defend the city anymore.
I've lived here through some dark times, such as the murder of 5 OPD police officers in 2009 at the hands of Lovelle Mixon, the shooting of Oscar Grant on BART, and the Ghost House fire. In all those cases, I was always able to find a glimmer of hope that while things may seem to be deteriorating, life in Oakland was actually getting better. And there was plenty of evidence suggesting that to be so. When I lived in Lake Merritt in 2001, I regularly rode my bike through what is now the "Uptown" part of downtown, and it was overrun with blight. 10 years later, it was almost unrecognizable - and in a good way! Now though, the deterioration feels permanent and irreversible.
To me, the turning point was the rioting in the summer of 2020. There was bad looting and destruction just blocks from my house. I actually went down to MacArthur Blvd and E. 14th streets in San Leandro to see what was going on, and I was appalled at what I saw. This wasn't a protest in support of any cause. It was lawlessness for the sake of lawlessness. It was a celebration of criminal behavior, and it was largely excused by Oakland city leaders. It's been downhill ever since.
I'm in downtown Oakland every Monday afternoon, and I see signs of car break-ins every time I'm down there. Glass on the streets, cars with windows smashed in. My own car got bipped a few weeks back. Lake Merritt is overrun with people permanently living on piles of trash next to the lake. Recently, I've seen homeless encampments under the freeway overpass at San Pablo and West Grand, burning trash in metal garbage cans. Its like a scene from "Escape from New York." On MacArthur Blvd, between 106th and 98th, there are dilapidated RV's that have been parked there for at least two years, in front of people's businesses and homes. The scene on W 12rh street that one witnesses from BART between Fruitvale and Lake Merritt stations is appalling - shanty towns built on top of huge piles of trash. All of this should be a source of intense shame for Oakland's leaders and yet I see little evidence that they care at all.
The irony is that Oakland city leadership, which seems obsessed with tearing down what they see as unfair systems of privilege, actually operates like a trust fund fail-son. Despite their repeated failures and incompetence in improving the lives of every Oaklander, they avoid accountability simply because Oakland enjoys the privilege of geography. If it were 100 miles inland, it would be like Flint, MI - a failed city whose best days are behind it. Instead, Oakland remains relevant simply because its located on one of the most beautiful areas of the country, if not the planet. So they implement stupid policy after stupid policy - like the 2017 decision to stop discretionary traffic stops - without having to worry that those will kill the city as some number of people will always live here due to where its located.
I will probably leave once my kids are done with school. I never thought I'd be saying that, but then again, I never thought Oakland would deteriorate in the way that it has.
Thank you for this information, Tim. Highlights failure of city governance. Ibut where is Newsom? Barbara Lee? The gall of Bas and Kalb to run for another public office! Pathetic!
Thanks Tim for parsing all this data and presenting it in a clear way that should help inform a sane approach to dealing with the current crisis — beyond just complaining. Information is power and defining the problem is key to moving Oakland forward.
This is such a brilliant piece, in part by collating the countless dimensions of crime we are experiencing and using that information, along with data and analysis, to offer exactly the kind of action needed
Really interesting data, but to back up the headline "like nothing before", it would be good if your charts went back before 2008, particularly since property crime in the US generally peaked in the 80s and violent crime in the 90s, at levels much higher than current levels. I know you put some references to this in a footnote, but it would be good to see it in the charts for comparison.
And this is from someone who walks everyday by the Rockridge store that was broken into 4 times, twice when the front had been smashed in.
Thanks. Note that the 2nd chart in the article shows the annual crime back to 1985, but that data (UCR data) is not as detailed as Oakland Police Data. OPD breaks the categories down into commercial, residential, and all the Part 1 crime categories. But it only goes back to 2008. Or at least I can only find data back to 2008. Perhaps in time, I will find a way to get the detailed data that goes further back in time.
What part of Oakland is the heart and what part is lungs…? If it was really bad, wouldn’t it also be attacking the liver and maybe the kidneys? I’m thinking maybe the liver might be West Oakland, the heart might be uptown. Pancreas might be Rockridge .
I don’t know until it gets to these other vital organs. I don’t think it’s that bad.
How long have you lived in Oakland? Do you own or rent a home, and in what neighborhood? do you have children and are they enrolled in OUSD? Are you a full-time biotech employee? How would you characterize your household social economic status?
No, they provide a little bit of context as to the author's perspective on these issues… That and what he might offer as qualifications that would make your opinion any more relevant than anybody else’s.
If he doesn’t want to comment tells me he’s concerned about how the information might frame the discussion.
What veiled threats? Is asking somebody about their background a threat? Since when? I’m curious as to who this guy is and why he thinks his opinion counts for anything more than anybody else’s. And I’m kind of wondering what sort of skin has in the game.
Of course, I suppose he could go around brandishing handguns if he sees something going on that he is suspicious of. I hear there are certain people around that do that sort of thing.
Personally, I think the crime levels in the city are bad, I don’t think our current civic leadership is doing a good job. And I think OPD in particular is a shit show.
That you put in so many footnotes is a great sign of thorough work. Thank you for your time and efforts.
Thank you. It's all so disheartening, but having established facts at hand to combat the gaslighting from the social utopia/communism crowd is very helpful as people on either side of an issue can always joust with anecdotes. I'm hopeful things can be turned around, but for some reason there is a great asymmetry in that good leadership takes a long time to build things that bad leadership can wreck in a year.
I've been living in Oakland since 2001. Both of my children were born in Oakland. Aside from a two year stint in Lake Merritt, which is where I lived when I moved here from San Francisco in 2001, I've always lived deep in East Oakland, near the Oakland Zoo. I've been a staunch defender of Oakland over the years, constantly and forcibly pushing back on the perception of my colleagues - especially those that live in places like Palo Alto or Mountain View - that Oakland was a dangerous place that should be avoided at all costs. But now I find that I cannot with a clear conscience defend the city anymore.
I've lived here through some dark times, such as the murder of 5 OPD police officers in 2009 at the hands of Lovelle Mixon, the shooting of Oscar Grant on BART, and the Ghost House fire. In all those cases, I was always able to find a glimmer of hope that while things may seem to be deteriorating, life in Oakland was actually getting better. And there was plenty of evidence suggesting that to be so. When I lived in Lake Merritt in 2001, I regularly rode my bike through what is now the "Uptown" part of downtown, and it was overrun with blight. 10 years later, it was almost unrecognizable - and in a good way! Now though, the deterioration feels permanent and irreversible.
To me, the turning point was the rioting in the summer of 2020. There was bad looting and destruction just blocks from my house. I actually went down to MacArthur Blvd and E. 14th streets in San Leandro to see what was going on, and I was appalled at what I saw. This wasn't a protest in support of any cause. It was lawlessness for the sake of lawlessness. It was a celebration of criminal behavior, and it was largely excused by Oakland city leaders. It's been downhill ever since.
I'm in downtown Oakland every Monday afternoon, and I see signs of car break-ins every time I'm down there. Glass on the streets, cars with windows smashed in. My own car got bipped a few weeks back. Lake Merritt is overrun with people permanently living on piles of trash next to the lake. Recently, I've seen homeless encampments under the freeway overpass at San Pablo and West Grand, burning trash in metal garbage cans. Its like a scene from "Escape from New York." On MacArthur Blvd, between 106th and 98th, there are dilapidated RV's that have been parked there for at least two years, in front of people's businesses and homes. The scene on W 12rh street that one witnesses from BART between Fruitvale and Lake Merritt stations is appalling - shanty towns built on top of huge piles of trash. All of this should be a source of intense shame for Oakland's leaders and yet I see little evidence that they care at all.
The irony is that Oakland city leadership, which seems obsessed with tearing down what they see as unfair systems of privilege, actually operates like a trust fund fail-son. Despite their repeated failures and incompetence in improving the lives of every Oaklander, they avoid accountability simply because Oakland enjoys the privilege of geography. If it were 100 miles inland, it would be like Flint, MI - a failed city whose best days are behind it. Instead, Oakland remains relevant simply because its located on one of the most beautiful areas of the country, if not the planet. So they implement stupid policy after stupid policy - like the 2017 decision to stop discretionary traffic stops - without having to worry that those will kill the city as some number of people will always live here due to where its located.
I will probably leave once my kids are done with school. I never thought I'd be saying that, but then again, I never thought Oakland would deteriorate in the way that it has.
Thank you for this information, Tim. Highlights failure of city governance. Ibut where is Newsom? Barbara Lee? The gall of Bas and Kalb to run for another public office! Pathetic!
Thanks Tim for parsing all this data and presenting it in a clear way that should help inform a sane approach to dealing with the current crisis — beyond just complaining. Information is power and defining the problem is key to moving Oakland forward.
Thank you for writing and sharing the facts. You are doing a great service for Oakland
This is such a brilliant piece, in part by collating the countless dimensions of crime we are experiencing and using that information, along with data and analysis, to offer exactly the kind of action needed
Really interesting data, but to back up the headline "like nothing before", it would be good if your charts went back before 2008, particularly since property crime in the US generally peaked in the 80s and violent crime in the 90s, at levels much higher than current levels. I know you put some references to this in a footnote, but it would be good to see it in the charts for comparison.
And this is from someone who walks everyday by the Rockridge store that was broken into 4 times, twice when the front had been smashed in.
Thanks. Note that the 2nd chart in the article shows the annual crime back to 1985, but that data (UCR data) is not as detailed as Oakland Police Data. OPD breaks the categories down into commercial, residential, and all the Part 1 crime categories. But it only goes back to 2008. Or at least I can only find data back to 2008. Perhaps in time, I will find a way to get the detailed data that goes further back in time.
Good point - I was focusing on the 3rd set of charts and later.
Those motor vehicle stats are crazy!
perhaps one of the problems in Oakland is no consensus, no action plan. Oakland hasnt really changed much only gotten worse.
The “heart AND lungs” bahaha.
What part of Oakland is the heart and what part is lungs…? If it was really bad, wouldn’t it also be attacking the liver and maybe the kidneys? I’m thinking maybe the liver might be West Oakland, the heart might be uptown. Pancreas might be Rockridge .
I don’t know until it gets to these other vital organs. I don’t think it’s that bad.
Tim
How long have you lived in Oakland? Do you own or rent a home, and in what neighborhood? do you have children and are they enrolled in OUSD? Are you a full-time biotech employee? How would you characterize your household social economic status?
The answers to those questions are irrelevant to facts presented above
No, they provide a little bit of context as to the author's perspective on these issues… That and what he might offer as qualifications that would make your opinion any more relevant than anybody else’s.
If he doesn’t want to comment tells me he’s concerned about how the information might frame the discussion.
Are you his fan boy?
Do you have any thoughts on the information presented?
Or are you here for veiled threats?
Is this a City Employee?
Is 🍕 your favorite food?
Are you lonely, depressed person?
What veiled threats? Is asking somebody about their background a threat? Since when? I’m curious as to who this guy is and why he thinks his opinion counts for anything more than anybody else’s. And I’m kind of wondering what sort of skin has in the game.
Of course, I suppose he could go around brandishing handguns if he sees something going on that he is suspicious of. I hear there are certain people around that do that sort of thing.
Personally, I think the crime levels in the city are bad, I don’t think our current civic leadership is doing a good job. And I think OPD in particular is a shit show.
Why does your opinion count for anything?
Again, any questions on the data presented?
What's YOUR agenda?
Wyy the veiled threats of doxxing?
We know you won't answer in good faith, and that's fine. Just by being here acting the way you are, we know you are extremely desperate.
:p