Governor Gavin Newsom says the California Highway Patrol has made record progress in the fight against organized shoplifting.
One area they deployed the CHP officers in OaklandYet some businesses in Oakland’s Grand Lake area say there is no response to retail crime.
“It’s got to stop,” said Bubba Taylor, executive chef at The Alley, a historic piano bar on Grand Avenue. “It’s got to stop, because we’re all sick of it. We really are.”
On July 24, The Alley was broken into.
“They took our ATM and our cash register,” Taylor said. “I don’t think they got away with a lot of money, but we’re still struggling to get our lives back on track.”
On Thursday morning, Taylor was working outside the restaurant to beautify the area and make it more appealing to potential customers.
The state has also stepped up its own efforts to help storefronts with its organized retail crime task force.
Newsom announced that the CHP made record progress in July, with 106% more arrests than in previous months and a more than 200% increase in criminal investigations.
But Taylor has not seen an increase in CHP presence.
“I come here for work between 1:00 and almost 1:00 in the morning,” Taylor said. “I didn’t see one. I didn’t even see any police.”
Eric Dam manages the Ace Hardware Graden Center, about a half mile away, also on Grand Avenue.
“I haven’t seen many CHP officers here,” Dam said.
He says that as a garden centre they are less likely to be targeted by burglaries, but they are still not completely immune.
A few years ago, thieves broke into their outdoor area.
“So what we did is we reinforced the gate, but they cut the padlock, opened it up and took some dirt out of here. Loaded it on a truck and took some wind chimes and things like that, but I have no idea what they’re planning on doing,” Dam told CBS News Bay Area.
Dam has lived and worked in Oakland for more than two decades. He says he feels unsafe and is considering selling his home and moving elsewhere.
“You never know what’s going to happen, who’s going to come at you in Oakland, you just have to be on your guard all the time,” Dam said.
But Taylor still has hope for the city.
“It’s not Oakland, Oakland is a beautiful place,” Taylor said. “This area is the best place to live, to shop, to hang out, to go to Lake Merritt, to get fresh food.”
Taylor says he would like to see more uniformed police officers and CHP officers on the streets of Oakland to help prevent crime.
“They have to do better than they are doing now,” he said.
Earlier this week, California lawmakers passed a series of bills to crack down on retail theft, including tougher policies on selling stolen goods and easier prosecution of burglaries.
These bills now await Newsom’s signature.
