Oakland is a mess right now.

Everywhere I look, Oakland appears to be breaking down.

More people are living in tent communities than ever before, as if the sidewalks under highway overpasses are the hottest land in the city.

And if you do happen to live indoors on some of the hottest land in the city, it could be dangerous to sleep.

New housing developments have gone up in flames in the predawn hours, putting the lives of nearby residents at risk as soon as they lay their heads onto their pillows.

When you take a drive through the city, you have to keep an eye out for potholes. These road cavities can wreak havoc on your vehicle’s suspension system and tires.

And if you don’t hit one of those, chances are you’ve been hit by auto burglars. It’s a rite of passage in Oakland to have your car windows smashed — the jagged pieces of shattered glass on the street are a reminder that you are here.

If you do call the police for something like an auto burglary — well, good luck with that.

The Police Department has been under federal supervision for 14 years, and it still can’t get its act together.

This week began with a federal judge slamming city officials for a “severely mishandled” investigation into officers who allegedly had sex with an underage girl.

U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson, who is overseeing reforms in the Oakland Police Department, was critical of how City Hall leaders and the department’s top commanders investigated the allegations.

A sexually exploited young woman told reporters that she had sex with 29 law enforcement officers in several Bay Area agencies, and the response from the department’s brass was to blame the victim and watch her delete evidence on her phone.

Don’t get me wrong: There’s plenty to celebrate in Oakland. It’s just that the much-needed good news in Oakland usually gets clouded over by palm-to-forehead headlines. You have to look closer for the good stuff.

For example, this week Mayor Libby Schaaf announced the creation of 300 additional summer jobs for youths through the mayor’s summer jobs program, bringing the total number of summer jobs for youths to 2,000.

Those are jobs that will keep them focused and out of the streets.

Yes, the people living on the streets want jobs, too. According to a survey taken by Alameda County weeks after the homeless point-in-time count, 36 percent said employment assistance would have kept them in their homes.

Yes, I know solutions to stop displacement and the spread of homelessness are being kicked around, but that talk can’t be measured as a successful solution until ground is broken.

Yes, I realize the city’s “pothole blitz” to patch the craters goes through the end of the month. Maybe there will be smoother sailing — until the rains return.

And yes, I know voters overwhelmingly approved the formation of a police commission to oversee the department’s policies and procedures. At the very least, we expect our police to investigate crimes — not to be the subjects of crime investigations.

The city can do better.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr