Violent crime plummets in Oakland Police tactics, economy, neighborhood unity cited for dramatic drop

Oakland police Officer Huy Nguyen meets with local businesswoman Thu Pham, who says police have become more responsive to concerns in the Eastlake neighborhood in the past year. Oakland police Officer Huy Nguyen meets with local businesswoman Thu Pham, who says police have become more responsive to concerns in the Eastlake neighborhood in the past year. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Violent crime plummets in Oakland 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

On a brisk February day in East Oakland, a member of the violent Money Team gang spotted rival members of the Case Gang.

The groups flashed gang signs, drew guns and opened fire. A passing AC Transit bus was struck, as were two Case Gang members. One, 20-year-old Marcellus Perry, died.

When Oakland police arrived at 77th and Bancroft, both sides had already fled to regroup and plot revenge. But police were still a step ahead.

They figured out who was involved and put warnings out on the street: We know who did it. We're going to make an arrest. And anyone who retaliates will get caught.

"It would have taken a long time to get the murder warrants," said police Capt. Ersie Joyner, who heads the unit tasked with stopping violence in East Oakland. "So we went to the friends of the people who were (involved), and we told them not to retaliate."

Quick gang interventions

The shooters were eventually arrested, but the quick intervention by police stopped the violence from escalating. Typically, such a shooting starts a rash of retribution violence that can last days and leave many others wounded or dead.

Such a tactic, police officials said, is one reason Oakland is seeing a dramatic drop in violent crime this year compared with last year.

Shootings have plummeted 35 percent so far this year from last year. Homicides are down 18 percent (to 28 as of May 11).Robberies have also dropped significantly. There have been 1,076 so far this year - 38 percent less than this time last year. In 2012, Oakland had more robberies than any other major American city, and 2013 was even worse.

Armed robberies are nearly half of what they were a year ago.

Police and city leaders attribute the changes to the improving economy, increased neighborhood unity and improved police work. Additionally, residents have banded together to hire private security patrols or install surveillance systems.

Trends encouraging

But, experts caution that it's too early to celebrate. Crime in Oakland has gone up and down for decades, and the traditional summer spike in crime may eliminate any declines so far this year.

"It is clear from the statistics that the trends over time have turned encouraging after a substantial period of time when they were quite the reverse," said Frank Zimring, a UC Berkeley School of Law professor who studies crime trends. "There is still an important distinction between celebration of good news and announcing conclusions about cause and effect."

Oakland won't be able to declare even partial victory, Zimring said, until the city sees consistent and sustained drops in crimes, especially killings, for more than five years.

But police feel as though they are on the right track.

"Police strategy plays a role, and I think the community outreach and activism plays a role," said Sean Whent, Oakland's police chief.

In particular, Whent said, police have aggressively used a program called Ceasefire to curtail violence in East Oakland. The program offers a carrot-and-stick approach to crime where city and community leaders offer members of gangs and criminal groups help if they stop criminal activity and warn them of harsh sanctions if they don't.

Program curtails violence

Some Oakland criminals take the offer of help, while others have declined and have been arrested.

Whent credits Ceasefire as the primary reason shootings and killings have dropped. The program has been promoted by Mayor Jean Quan, who is seeking re-election, after her much-touted 100-block plan failed.

He says a handful of criminal crews, including the Money Team and Case Gang, are probably responsible for the vast majority of robberies across Oakland. Applying intense police scrutiny on these groups limits their ability to rob people and burglarize properties.

"When we focus on the violence, that has the effect of discouraging them from other crimes, like robbery," Whent said.

In addition, Whent said, police have assigned 10 to 12 additional officers to investigations over the last year. Some focus on robbery alone, while others investigate assault or homicide.

"When you make an arrest, you end up taking down a crew of five people who we tied to 12 robberies, who probably committed a lot more than that," Whent said.

City split into 5 police areas

In a report last year, police consultant Bill Bratton found that Oakland police were "slow to respond to robberies and interview victims, losing momentum on the investigation of pattern robberies."

But that has changed for robberies and other crimes, Whent said.

The city has been split into five police areas, and a captain is responsible for the crime in each area. The group of commanders talks every morning at 8 a.m. and, every two weeks, meets in person to discuss crime trends in their areas of the city.

The meetings have the effect of making every police commander aware of what is happening in every block of their district, said Capt. Rick Orozco, who oversees the Fruitvale area.

"You better be prepared. I can tell you that," Orozco said. "The week and a half before or even right after, we are looking at our crime trends and crime issues."

Thu Pham, a businesswoman who has lived east of Lake Merritt for 21 years, said she had grown frustrated with the unresponsiveness of Oakland police. Her area was plagued with robberies and burglaries, and very little was done.

But in the last year, Pham said police have become more responsive. She's seen officers go door-to-door and hand out business cards and even join community efforts to paint over graffiti.

"The police did not listen to our concerns," Pham said. "But right now everybody is important. When we have a graffiti cleanup, they will show up and, ... it makes the fear factor go away.