Oakland business owner says ‘best deterrent’ to ‘multi-tiered’ crime problem is ‘light’
Open Mind Music owner Henry Wimmer discusses the crime crisis plaguing Oakland, California, and shares what he believes is the solution on ‘America Reports.’
Over 500 residents and business owners turned up to a community meeting in Oakland, California, this week to voice their frustrations over the city's "rampant" crime problem.
Open Mind Music owner Henry Wimmer told "America Reports" on Thursday that he's been a victim of smash-and-grab theft and once scared off a person casing a car with a flashlight.
"What I see is a lot of people upset and understandably so, because crime has really been rampant in the time I've been in the Rockridge neighborhood, which is really a beautiful, wonderful neighborhood," Wimmer said.
The "Crime and Violence Meeting" was called for by District One City Council member Dan Kalb. Joining Kalb on stage were interim Oakland Police Department Captain Jeff Thomason and interim Chief of the Department of Violence Prevention Kentrell Killens.
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Victims of the city's crime spoke out during the committee meeting, while Kalb and Thomason tried to outline steps they are trying to take to address the crime.
"Who wants to live like this?!" one attendee said to applause.
Earlier this month, the city saw 100 robberies in a week, with 50 taking place over a single weekend, according to Oakland police.
The robberies that happened included acts like carjackings, shootings and assaults.
"We experience it on at least I would say a weekly basis or a monthly basis," Oakland restaurant owner Adam Stemmler said Thursday on "America's Newsroom." "And it's something we're deeply concerned about, and we're here to encourage people to get involved at the local level."
Last week, three girls and six boys between 12–17 years of age were arrested for nearly three dozen robberies that terrorized the community.
Citywide, robberies have increased 7% from the same period last year, Oakland police statistics revealed. Authorities said they are alarmed to see more juveniles involved in crime.
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Wimmer added smash-and-grab robberies and car theft are "fundamentally the major problem" in his neighborhood of Rockridge.
"There were pedestrians near my car. It was about closing time and there was daylight," he said. "It was like maybe 10 seconds. So I was in the store saying, ‘Monica, we need to get going.’ And in that time there was a pop of the back window. They grabbed our laptop and were gone in a matter of seconds."
"So the criminal element is quick, it's nefarious, it's predatory, and it really takes a lot of eyes on the prize. In essence, the best deterrent is light," he said.
The council member said he had just come from a budget workshop at City Hall, and the current version of the budget shows over the next two years a total of six police academies and an increase in the number of officers.
But with that, he said, there will be a freeze in paid positions and less money for overtime, meaning a reduction in funding over the next two years. Kalb said the budget has not been adopted yet, and the reduction in funds for police was a concern for him.
Wimmer said the crime problem is "multi-tiered" and will require more than fixing police issues.
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"The Oakland police force is, per capita, the smallest of a major city, and it has a vast territory to cover. So it really is a multi-tiered problem, and it really is problems with education and economic opportunity along with police force issues," he said.
"It really is a major problem here, not just in Oakland, but in many metropolitan areas. And we as business owners and neighbors, we really want to do our part to help each other keep an eye out to try to deter some of this crime." — Henry Wimmer
The over two-hour meeting was streamed on Facebook, and by the end, Kalb said police and other agencies have been submitting grants to help with the situation.
Kalb was also asked to give a firm statement on what he plans to do to fix the situation.
"It’s going to be hard to do some things, but we’re going to try," he said before closing out the meeting.
Stemmler said the meeting was a "starting point" to fixing the overall crisis.
"I think it has to start with dialogue," he reasoned. "It has to start with engagement, and it has to start with people channeling their frustration and their anger into solutions and not drone on and on and on about the problems. We need people involved, we need people aware, and we need people to take that sense of frustration and not feel helpless, but feel empowered and to take the steps to engage with the people that represent them."
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Wimmer echoed his fellow Oakland resident, saying it will take "all sectors of the community" to take action.
"It really is a major problem here, not just in Oakland, but in many metropolitan areas. And we as business owners and neighbors, we really want to do our part to help each other keep an eye out to try to deter some of this crime," he said.
Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.