Oakland goes 25 days without a homicide in May, June as crime numbers drop
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- In a milestone for public safety in the East Bay, Oakland went 25 days without a homicide at the end of May and into June.
Data through July 6 shows violent crimes, including homicides and robberies, are down considerably this year in Oakland.
The blue numbers on a chart released by Oakland police show year-to-year declines in Oakland crimes all across the board.
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They represent public safety improvement and they're not going unnoticed.
"I'm seeing reductions in homicides and reductions in shootings, and we're just gonna keep our pedal to the metal until we don't have all these homicides in Oakland," Barbara Lafitte-Oluwole of Faith in Action East Bay said.
The group is directly involved in the city's Ceasefire program, which Lafitte-Oluwole says was audited and improved in 2023.
Oakland police say there were no homicides in Oakland this year between May 30 and June 25 (there was one on 5/30 and 6/25). They haven't seen those numbers in June for five years. Lafitte-Oluwole believes Ceasefire is having an impact.
"So what it does is it focuses on those at very high risk of violence," Lafitte-Oluwole said.
In that program, life coaches, who are sometimes pastors, work with possible shooters or those being shot at by pointing them toward resources and helping them.
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Along with that program, CHP has helped police in Oakland, and last week US Marshals made multiple arrests.
"So over the five days we did arrest 21 fugitives, ended up working out almost exactly two to three a day," said Chris Tamayo, a senior inspector at the U.S. Marshals Office.
Tamayo clarified that none of those involved immigration cases and all involved people who were wanted for crimes ranging from robberies to parole violations.
"I pulled our stats and we've arrested 67 fugitives since Sept. 1. So you know, over six months we've arrested that many," Tamayo said.
And while a July 4th homicide was proof that there are still challenges, an arrest has been made in that case.
"Yeah, we may still be seen as the most dangerous city in the state but the numbers are coming down and we are not giving up. I mean, we live here. We love this city, and in order for us to continue to live here, we have to make it safe for ourselves," Lafitte-Oluwole said.
Tamayo says U.S. Marshals teams are planning for two more focused weeks in Oakland. Both will come at different times within the next couple of months.
