One in thirty Oakland residents had their car stolen last year as 15,000 vehicles were stolen – a 45 percent increase in just a year.
The shocking figure is the highest in 15 years.
However, less than five percent of those auto theft cases lead to an actual arrest as the California city’s understaffed and underfunded police department are preoccupied dealing with a 21 percent spike in violent crime. And there are also just two police officers assigned to deal with car theft.
Mary Remington’s 2018 Honda Fit, Milan Sanders’ 2019 Kia Sorento, and Emily Frazier’s 2020 Kia Forte were all ruthlessly swiped away, they told the San Fransisco Chronicle.
The city’s mayor and DA are both outspoken progressives who have both said that police accountability and racial equity are a priority, but fed-up locals have pleaded with them to make the Bay Area city safer.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao (pictured) emphasized ongoing investments in police resources and technology – despite the fact that less than 5 percent of auto theft cases lead to an arrest
Last year alone, nearly 15,000 cars were reported stolen in Oakland – a staggering 45 percent increase from 2022, marking the highest number in at least 15 years (Pictured: A scene of an accident after a driver was chased by thieves leading to his car flipping over)
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price (pictured) is facing a recall amid a surge of violent crime in the city
In October, even Oakland’s District Attorney Pamela Price had her work laptop stolen during a car smash-and-grab outside a family justice center mid-day.
This comes as the campaign to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, also known as Save Alameda for Everyone (SAFE), ramps up. The recall effort was initiated in 2023.
The epicenter of this surge lies in Uptown and North Oakland, which witnessed a shocking 69 percent spike in car thefts, according to data from the Police Department and the state.
The Chronicle revealed several reasons experts credit with the growing crisis that is plaguing the city.
One major factor is the lack of basic anti-theft technology in popular Kia and Hyundai models, exacerbated by a viral social media challenge encouraging thieves to target these specific cars, according to the Chronicle.
Additionally, tight police resources are reportedly being directed towards higher-priority crimes.
In Oakland, this surge in property and violent crimes reflects the broader impact of the unsettling trend.
An Oakland restaurant owner was robbed by multiple suspects after his vehicle crashed and flipped upside-down in a Mad Max-style car chase on Friday morning
Masked bandits brazenly raid cars in downtown Oakland in daylight
Loi leaves her car windows down enough for thieves to open the doors instead of smashing the windows when it is parked outside the café
Victims like 63-year-old Remington, who discovered her Honda Fit missing from her apartment complex’s garage, are in despair.
Despite witnessing crime ever since she moved to the city 23 years ago, Remington told the Chronicle that she has noticed the worsening trend in car-related crimes.
‘It’s unbelievable what is happening,’ she said to the Chronicle.
Social media posts from neighbors also have highlighted the growing concern, she said, with incidents ranging from car break-ins to armed carjackings just blocks away.
Two months after her car was stolen, Remington received a call from the police – her vehicle was found in San Leandro, missing its plates.
To ensure the safety of her replacement car, Remington opted for a model equipped with LoJack, a tracking system to aid recovery in case of future thefts.
Oakland has experienced a multitude of crimes including vehicle smash-and grabs and store smash-and-grabs
Despite this incident, the odds of finding and arresting car thieves in Oakland remain slim.
In 2022, police made arrests in only about 4.5 percent of auto theft cases – a lower rate compared to San Francisco and San Jose.
The Oakland Police Department’s limited resources, with just two officers dedicated to auto theft investigations, reflects the harsh reality of prioritizing violent crimes in the face of soaring crime rates.
Police Department spokesman Paul Chambers defended their commitment to reducing crime, emphasizing the challenging environment where violent crimes demand immediate attention.
In an email to the Chronicle, he said that the department was ‘committed to reducing crime and serving the community.’
Oakland experienced a 21 percent increase in violent crime in 2023, along with a staggering 38 percent rise in robberies and a 23 percent increase in burglaries.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao emphasized ongoing investments in police resources and technology.
A $360 million deficit in the city’s general fund prompted Thao to freeze hundreds of vacant positions, including those within the police department, further straining resources amidst rising crime rates.
In an emailed statement to the Chronicle, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said that safety for kids, businesses and families was her priority.
She announced that the city is allegedly investing in a ‘robust and accountable police department,’ advancing violence prevention initiatives, and turning to technology to ‘modernize’ investigations.
‘Progress is underway and investments are starting to bear fruit,’ the mayor said, adding that there has been a decrease in auto burglaries following the city’s deployment of a special unit of uniformed and plainclothes officers dedicated to thwarting the break-ins in September.
Darren Allison. Interim Chief Of Police.
A TikTok car theft challenge, showing a step-by-step guide on how to steal certain Kia and Hyundai models, has only fueled the fire.
With the manufacturer ceasing to install ‘immobilizers’ in their vehicles from 2011 to 2022, these cars have become prime targets for thieves.
Crime has spiked so badly in Oakland that locals revealed they leave their car windows down so the glass won’t be smashed when thieves break in.
Homicides are in triple-digits four years running, car thefts are up 50 per cent in a year, and 1,000 more people are living on the street.
Suzane Loi, who has run The Coffee Mill on Grand Avenue for the past 27 years, doesn’t like what she is seeing on the busy street outside.
Her café was broken into three times in six months, doubling her insurance premiums to $12,000, and masked car thieves smash car windows outside several times a week.
‘When I park my car outside I leave the windows down enough to fit your hand through and unlock it so they don’t smash the glass,’ she told DailyMail.com in December.
Better to only have the thieves rummage through her car and not have a broken window to replace as well, she thought.
‘My business is down 40 percent this year because people are too afraid to go out to eat in downtown,’ Loi said.
‘Their cars will just get smashed or stolen or broken into. We had two break-ins outside just this week.’
Loi said the masked bandits who raided cars along the street were even younger than she remembered in years past.
‘They’re 15-year-old kids or even pre-teen, and there’s girls now, too,’ she said.
‘This used to be the place to be but now everything is closing. We have no fine dining, shops are closing, even CVS is trying to close.
The Oakland DA was elected in 2022 and has faced major criticism as the crime rate in Oakland and the entire Bay Area has rapidly increased
In August Oakland NAACP leaders called for a state of emergency over the soaring crime rate and blamed Price for it
‘Honestly, someone needs to be held accountable for it. I don’t know what to do, the government isn’t doing anything, why did we even vote for them?’
Restaurants in Oakland have reported losing thousands a week as diners have their cars and jewelry robbed mid meal – with locals now avoiding the city’s downtown area.
With violent crime running rampant across the Dem-led Californian city, business owners in November compared the area to a ‘battleground’ akin to wartime Vietnam.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is facing a recall as a result. Hundreds of locals have started a group, named Save Alameda for Everyone, in a bid to oust Price from her position because of her soft-on-crime approach.
In the same weekend, two beloved restaurant spots closed their doors after years of service because of the rampant car burglaries and violent crime on their doorsteps.
French-Vietnamese eatery Le Cheval closed its doors after 38 years, as did Galeto Brazilian Steakhouse on the same block.
Galeto’s owner Eli Nascimento said it ‘is defiantly crime’ that caused him to shutter. He recalled how his host got robbed outside the restaurant, with three pistols to his head. He quit because he couldn’t take it anymore.
Other small business owners, including shopkeepers and gas station workers, previously announced a one-day strike to show how the out of control crime was affecting the local economy.
Derreck Johnson, owner of Home of Chicken and Waffles, said: ‘Every day we struggle with not wanting to lay off our employees.
‘I had a group from Miami get robbed at gunpoint on a Saturday afternoon, all their jewelry taken. That should not be my priority. That should not be my job, to make sure that my customers are safe while they’re walking the streets in Oakland.’
Many of Johnson’s patrons have had their luggage stolen from their cars, or been robbed at gunpoint while coming in and out of the restaurant.
Woke San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin faced a recall vote in 2022 as murder rate soared 11%, rapes were up 9% and furious locals blasted the city as a ‘dangerous place to live’
Homicides are in triple-digits four years running, car thefts are up 50 per cent in a year, and 1,000 more people are living on the street
The total number of armed robberies in Oakland this year have reached 1282, which equates to a 43 percent rise since this time last year.
In November, vehicle thefts were up nearly 50 percent, and home invasions by 65 percent – Oakland police arrested seven people in a special operation that targets car thieves.
In December, an Oakland restaurant owner was robbed by multiple suspects after his vehicle crashed and flipped upside-down in a Mad Max-style car chase.
The harrowing event occurred on Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland, California – a city likened to a hellscape in the Mad Max film series, where gangs roam in packs of vehicles in search of fuel.
Photos and videos captured the victim’s Honda Accord flipping and landing on the Lake Merritt walking trail, as witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots after the crash.