'Doom loop': How this California city is reckoning with a failed defund movement
The defund the police movement in Oakland failed to solve the city's crime issues and the lack of public safety officers makes locals feel unsafe, Neighborhood activist says.
OAKLAND, Calif. – It was a sunny day in the East Bay and there had already been multiple armed carjackings, two armed robberies, a handful of armed assaults and a fatal hit-and-run, and it was just after noon. For West Oakland, California, resident Seneca Scott, it was just another Wednesday morning.
"So the reason that Oakland is not safe and livable is because of the failed policies of our neo-progressives who have come to dominate our local government," Scott, founder of the nonprofit Neighbors Together Oakland, told Fox News. "The defund movement was a dismal failure."
California Highway Patrol officers respond to a call with a rifle drawn. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)
"No one feels safe to go outside, businesses are failing, and we created a dangerous doom loop," the safe neighborhood advocate continued. "The luxury politics of our elite who don't live with the consequences of their policy is absolutely destroying our city."
There were nearly 500 homicides in Oakland from 2018 to 2022, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, making the town the most dangerous city in the Bay Area. From July 6 to 12, Oakland police reported 251 larceny cases, 146 motor vehicle thefts, 43 robberies, 94 assaults and 50 burglaries, according to city data.
COMMUNITY SAFETY ADVOCATE EXPLAINS HOW PROGRESSIVE POLICIES CAUSED OAKLAND'S "DANGEROUS DOOM LOOP":
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"It's been a long-standing issue that Oakland doesn't have enough 911 dispatchers and there's a lot of turnover and attrition in that position," Scott said. "We don't have enough dispatchers and people are waiting upwards of 20 minutes to get someone on the phone."
The Oakland 911 dispatch system has failed twice since last Thursday.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services’ standards mandate 90% of 911 calls should be answered in 15 seconds or less. Oakland police, in the first three months of 2023, answered only 55% of calls in 15 seconds or less.
Oakland police's 911 average answer time during June was the worst in the state, taking callers over a minute to reach emergency dispatchers, an NBC Bay Area investigation found.
A robbery suspect is placed on a stretcher after a standoff with the Alameda County Sheriffs Office. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
CALIFORNIA YOUTHS LINKED TO AT LEAST 35 ROBBERIES IN OAKLAND AREA
"The 20-year-old system is waiting to fail catastrophically," a recent Alameda County Grand Jury report found regarding Oakland's 911 system.
"We've got a big fat target on our backs, and we have organized crime outfits coming forward, organized retail theft and car theft, etc.," Scott said. "Because they know we have no rule of law and the cops aren't going to come do anything about it."
"Someone breaking your window, someone robbing your bike or method of transportation or stealing the car, stealing your catalytic converter," Scott continued, "those things contribute to keeping the cycle of poverty going."
When residents are afraid to go outside and walk around, local businesses begin to fail, further exasperating the plight of poor neighborhoods, the nonprofit founder told Fox News. The solution to Oakland's persistent safety problems, Scott said, is to vote for new leadership who will crack down on crime.
Seneca Scott, founder of Neighbors Together Oakland, said the defund the police movement has caused a rise in crime in Oakland, California. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)
Oakland residents soon may have a chance to do just that.
A political action committee filed paperwork this week to recall Pamela Price, the district attorney for Alameda County who took office at the beginning of the year, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported.
"The luxury politics of our elite who don't live with the consequences of their policy is absolutely destroying our city."
Price's critics claim her progressive reforms such as not charging kids under 18 as adults, leniency in using sentencing enhancements and handling of a high-profile murder case of a 2-year-old have set bad precedents and led to more crime.
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"There is an invisible wall of failed policy that encapsulates Oakland," Scott told Fox News. "If we don't pull out very soon, we're going to see Oakland turn into one of the worst-run cities and most unlivable cities in the country."
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," he continued.
The Oakland Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.
To watch the full interview with Scott, click here.
