Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will quadruple California Highway Patrol shifts to Oakland and deploy California National Guard prosecutors starting Monday to combat organized crime, carjackings and juggling activities.
Five months ago, 120 highway patrol officers were initially sent to Oakland as part of a new enforcement operation to beef up police presence in the city. Vehicle crime increased by 38%.
According to reports, overall crime has dropped by 33% since the beginning of the year.
“While we are encouraged by some positive trends, the lawlessness we are seeing on the streets of Oakland is unacceptable,” Newsom said in a statement Thursday. “As we work with local law enforcement, “I’m deploying a new group of CHP officers to help provide the people of Oakland and the East Bay the safety and security they deserve.”
It is not uncommon for governors to deploy state officials as reinforcements, especially if local agencies struggle.
In the East Bay, the Highway Patrol has recovered 1,142 stolen cars, seized 55 crime-related firearms and arrested 562 people since February, Newsom’s office announced.
Newsom deployed another group of officers in April to Bakersfield, which is in Kern County and where crime data shows violent and property crimes are higher than the state average.
A month later, he said the fentanyl seizures in those cities were “unprecedented.”
