Oakland city leaders sought to address the crime concerns of city residents at a community safety meeting Saturday afternoon.
The meeting, held at the Genesis Worship Center, filled up quickly and left many waiting outside. Organizers also streamed the event online.
“We want to hear about the safety plan. What is the safety plan, they are shooting every night,” said Sheron, who declined to give NBC Bay Area her last name.
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“I have been turned away from this meeting because, according to them, they are at capacity," said Kay Kay Anadu, who lives in Oakland and is a business owner.
“Customers are not even coming,” she said. “They’re not able to feel comfortable parking their cars, because they park their car for five minutes and their stuff is going to get stolen from the car.”
Those who made it inside had a chance to listen to Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, among others.
“I again re-established the walking beats and traffic enforcement, and also funded six news police academies over the next two years,” said Thao.
Thao outlined the efforts of her office, including higher enforcement, the deployment of California Highway Patrol for traffic violations and sideshows, a cameras system, as well as intervention and prevention.
“We have to get back to one community. One Oakland. That is the only way to move forward. That means we have to not only work on solving the crimes and getting justice, but we also have to do the work upstream to prevent the harm from even happening.
Price addressed the role of her office in the process.
“I am in the middle of justice,” she said. “I can not ignore one community or one person in the system in favor of another person, that’s not what we’re doing.”
Some people also rallied outside the event space ahead of the meeting, highlighting ideas for public safety solutions.
“It’s never been this bad,” said one resident, who declined to give their name. “It’s never, ever been this bad.”
