California governor Gavin Newsom has reportedly blasted Oakland mayor Sheng Thao for not applying to funds set aside to tackle retail crime in the Bay Area.
In September, the governor’s administration approved over $267 million to be given to local police departments and the offices of district attorneys in the state to battle against organized retail theft.
The 55 awardees used it to create task forces, hire and train new staff and obtain new technologies.
But crime-ridden Oakland did not benefit, because it missed the application deadline – something Newsom was not happy about, according to Robert Harris of the Oakland NAACP.
‘The governor brought that up one, two, three times… He talked about the missed deadline, and then about 10 minutes later he said the same thing over, “We’ve made that available to you, and you didn’t file.”‘ Harris told Local News Matters.
California governor Gavin Newsom has reportedly blasted Oakland mayor Sheng Thao for not applying to funds set aside to tackle retail crime in the Bay Area
In September, the governor’s administration approved over $267 million to be given to local police departments and the offices of district attorneys
Oakland saw a 21 percent increase in violent crime, a 38 percent increase in robberies and a 45 percent increase in vehicle thefts between 2021 and 2023, per police data.
Newsom has also deployed 120 California Highway Patrol in Oakland and the Alameda County to assist with a surge in thefts that has caused several businesses in the area to shut down, including a Denny’s that had been open for 54 years.
Also shuttered was the city’s only In N Out Burger due to soaring crime – the only restaurant the chain has ever shuttered in its history.
He said: ‘As crime rates across California decrease — including right across the Bay in San Francisco — Oakland is seeing the opposite trend.
‘What’s happening in this beautiful city and surrounding area is alarming and unacceptable. I’m sending the California Highway Patrol to assist local efforts to restore a sense of safety that the hardworking people of Oakland and the East Bay demand and deserve.’
The CHP officers will be tackling auto theft, cargo theft, retail crime and violent crime.
Newsom said CHP has already arrested dozens of criminals just between February 5 and 9.
Thao, on her part, has expressed gratitude for the governor’s help.
‘The City of Oakland is hard at work turning the tide — increasing law enforcement investigations, increasing police recruitment, and investing in community and violence intervention efforts,’ she said on X.
‘I’m grateful for Governor Newsom for providing these critical law enforcement resources that are a game-changer in helping us hold more criminals accountable and make Oakland safer.’
This Denny’s – the only one in Oakland – closed its doors after 54 years
Oakland’s only In-N-Out Burger restaurant is set to close after 18 years
Meanwhile Oakland District Attorney Pamela Price is facing calls for a recall from locals fed-up of their plummeting quality of living.
Last month the recall effort pushed past 80,000 signatures, exceeding the 73,000 needed to qualify for a recall by March.
Price became Alameda County DA in 2022, pledging to seek shorter prison sentences, more lenient criminal charges, and a refusal to charge juveniles as adults – policies that critics say are escalating Oakland’s spiraling crime issues.
The city has been rocked by a citywide crimewave for over two years, with homicides up 80 percent in July 2023 compared to 2019 rates, while assaults and robberies were up 40 and 20 percent, respectively.
According to crime tracker Neighborhood Scout, Oakland is essentially the most dangerous city in America, with a violent crime rate almost four times higher than the national average that makes it safer than zero percent of US neighborhoods.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the city of Oakland for comment on this story.
