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Residents of Oakland, California, were furious with city officials on Tuesday night, during a meeting about the increased crime and violence taking place in the city.
Nearly 500 people reportedly attended the meeting, which 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.
Just 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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Local leaders in Oakland were shredded by members of the audience who warned of lawlessness in their neighborhoods. (Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb Facebook)
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.
The moment Kalb began to speak on Tuesday, members of the crowd shouted profanities to express their discontent with the crime taking place in their community.
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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.
"Sounds like a bad idea," someone shouted from the crowd.
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Kalb did not disagree with the man, saying the budget has not been adopted yet, and the reduction in funds for police was a concern for him.
Thomason tried to address the increase in robberies over the last few months, telling the audience about the nine juveniles who committed 32 robberies.
Crowd members shouted that the juveniles were back on the street and wanted to know why.
The captain said the department has been staffing overtime officers to try and prevent the robberies, and while it may not be stopping the crimes, he is hopeful the additional officers will be able to catch some of the crews committing the robberies.
Killens also spoke before the mic was handed to the audience. The interim chief of the department of violence prevention said he shares the community's pain and suffering, as he himself has been a victim.
Oakland police are investigating a series of robberies allegedly involving nine underage boys and girls. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
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The crowd quickly shouted their boos as soon as Killens said the common factor of the people breaking into cars are that they are hurting inside.
The Department of Violence Protection provides housing and services to those interested in receiving the services, which is the agency’s way to try to turn a bad into a good.
Kalb told the audience he has spoken to several police chiefs over the years who said police alone cannot reduce crime. Instead, it must be supplemented with other programs and services to be successful.
The community was not convinced.
Some of these in the community included victims of crimes, family members of victims and business owners.
Jennifer Graham told Kalb that her son, who suffered from mental illness, was murdered in December 2021. Graham’s main concerns was the lack of accountability when it came to connecting people to services.
When she herself tried to get a response, Graham said she started calling in November and did not get a call back until January. The simplest thing she said she would like to see for the encampment was a bus run by an agency that could provide simple necessities to those in need.
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Kalb chimed in when Graham was done and told the audience if they ever run into a situation where they are not getting a response, to call him.
The crowd, once again, responded with a series of boos, shouting Kalb does not respond to anyone.
One business owner who owns a pizza shop in Oakland accused Kalb of ignoring the community. The man’s business partner tried emailing Kalb five to seven times to get a single response.
The same business owner said over the past six years, his staff has been held at gunpoint four times. Because of that, the shop no longer accepts cash, which he said is difficult at times, especially when someone comes in for a slice of pizza and does not have a credit card because they cannot get one.
One woman, identified by FOX 2 in Oakland as Oakland resident Denise Lillian, gave a firsthand account of getting attacked last Monday.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao announces the firing of Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong during a press conference at City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group via AP)
Lillian told the council member not to respond, as she was "totally traumatized" after "two kids beat the s- - -" out of her in front of her house.
She said when a kid jumped out of the car, her initial thought was something was wrong with him. But then he put his hands on her purse and she had to do what she could do to fend him off. Lillian wound up face down on the pavement while the kids punched her. The juveniles did not get away with her purse, and fortunately for her, the neighbors heard the ruckus and came out to help.
What was even more baffling, though, is the kids were 14-15 years old. Lillian described the kids as not being old enough to have sex, yet this is what they did to her.
"I’m really traumatically f- - - - d up," she said. "What are we going to do? We can’t live like this."
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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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
