The issue of crime in Oakland has been extensively documented. Due to incidents of copper wire theft, the traffic lights were recently replaced with stop signs. Certain areas of the city resemble a desolate and uninhabited landscape ravaged by a catastrophic event. The deteriorating situation has reached a point where workers abandoned the city’s attempt to repair potholes due to concerns for their safety.
According to a local source, the roadways in an East Oakland neighborhood are still filled with large potholes after a construction team stopped their repaving operation due to safety concerns. He said that the construction was paused due to safety concerns raised by the contractor, and he was unable to provide a specific timeline for its resumption.
Oakland has had a recent wave of emigration as some people and companies depart owing to their apprehensions about safety. In response to the escalating levels of thefts and violence in the coastal California city, Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom added 120 California Highway Patrol troopers to address the ongoing crime problem. His office said in a press release that the events occurring in the city and its surrounding region are both concerning and not satisfactory.
Denny’s closed its only Oakland establishment in January after 54 years of operation owing to the prevalence of criminal activity. In addition, In-N-Out closed its only establishment in Oakland in January, attributing the closure to the same problem.
Residents say that they now lack the necessary sense of security to go outside their residences. A long-term resident of Oakland informed the media that he intended to leave the city.
The NAACP Oakland chapter sent an open letter to the city, denouncing the leadership’s endorsement of the campaign to defund the police and the use of anti-police language, which they believe has contributed to the proliferation of crime.
In February, a restaurant owner in Oakland told cable news media that the city’s criminal problems were the most severe they had ever seen.