As the struggling city of Oakland awaits a special election to replace two recalled politicians, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will keep California Highway Patrol officers on city streets while continuing to pressure local officials. Ask them to abandon policies that limit police pursuits.
Friday’s announcement that combined heat and power will remain in Oakland for another month is an additional boost to Newsom’s previous CHP deployment in the city, which began in February.
The move comes as a new batch of anti-theft laws takes effect in the new year and local prosecutors begin charging repeat theft and drug offenders under Proposition 36, the tough-on-crime measure approved by voters in November.
“It’s a spectacular city and it’s still a spectacular city, but it’s kind of lost its way,” Newsom said at a news conference in Oakland on Friday.
The governor criticized local officials for failing to change policies that restrict police pursuits of fugitives after he was asked this summer. He called the policy an “extreme anomaly” compared to other cities and said Oakland officials “rejected” his request.
“They had their chance, but they didn’t do it,” he said.
His decision to expand the CHP’s presence also comes after a series of headlines about high crime rates and a contentious election in which voters ousted Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the Alameda County district. Atty. Pamela Price reflects on widespread dissatisfaction with how officers handle public safety issues.
Newsom first deployed 120 CHP officers to Oakland in February. He has also deployed CHPs to several other California cities as local police departments say they are stressed by an increase in organized thefts, illegal drug sales and carjackings. By the summer, the governor announced he would quadruple the number of police officers. In October, he announced an extension of the Auckland program until the end of the year.
In the latest wave of discontent, residents of Vallejo, an East Bay city 20 minutes north of Oakland, signed the petition Last week, he implored Newsom to deploy CHP officers there, citing an understaffed police department and an “alarming increase” in crime as it was a “regular site for large, violent sideshows.”
Newsom acknowledged the requests on Friday but denied them, saying if the Vallejo Police Department is short-staffed, it should first try to work with the county sheriff, like other departments across the state.
“I just want the people of Vallejo to know that you’re not getting the CHP jobs,” he said. “I think there’s an assumption that the state is going to provide support for free. They have a lot of open positions and instead of contracting with the Sheriff’s Office, for example, they want to let the state do it for free. We’re not going to get into that industry.
Newsom’s aggressive deployment of officers has angered some anti-police advocates, who say overpolicing the area is not the answer.
While crime rates are generally down in California’s 15 largest counties, Oakland still faces problems such as car break-ins. Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento say they are listening and taking steps to address retail theft.
The Legislature passed a series of bills to make it easier to catch repeat offenders and streamline the prosecution of large-scale theft operations. The laws, which will take effect in January, include seven bills focusing on repeat offenders and new legal mechanisms to protect retailers.
Over the past few weeks, House Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), along with business leaders and other politicians, has been traveling across the state to push for passage of what he called a “historic” package of bills. The 11-piece bill targets repeat offenders of retail theft and simplifies the prosecution of major thefts.
