Shockingly tiny size of Oakland's police patrols are revealed, as city descends into lawlessness after progressive mayor voted to defund its police department
Crime-ridden Oakland has just 35 officers on patrol across the city at any given moment, the police department has admitted.
The admission by Oakland Police Department came after local news station KTVU asked them how it took cops 48 hours to respond to a July 4 shooting at an apartment complex during which residents reported hearing over 100 gunshots.
It is just the latest in a spate of crime that has rocked the Democrat-run California city, including almost 60 homicides so far this year.
Oakland is a city of around 435,000 residents, meaning that there is just one cop on patrol for every 12,500 citizens at any given moment.
The department is made up of 705 officers, but is only authorized by the city to have 678. Similarly sized Miami has over 1,100 sworn members of its police force and Long Beach, California has 824 officers.
Oakland has been rocked by violent crime in recent months but with such a small police force, resources are stretched thin to respond
Crime-ridden Oakland only has 35 officers on patrol per shift across the entire city, which is home to about 435,000 residents
During the July 4 shooting in downtown, residents were left terrified and bullet holes were left in the windows of apartments and the metal security door to a unit downstairs.
'I've never felt so unsafe in this house. I've been here for 12 years or so. The neighborhood is what it is; it's what I can afford. It was scary,' one resident said.
Oakland has been savaged by violent crime in recent months, including 53 homicides year to date for the week ending July 7, according to Oakland Police Department data.
There have been 1,660 reported robberies, 4,542 burglaries and 6,810 motor vehicle thefts.
In April, an Oakland jewelry store shop owner was forced to cower in terror as a gang of armed robbers ransacked her stock before her brave husband scared them away with a gun.
The eight hammer-wielding robbers smashed through Phuong Jewelry in Oakland's Chinatown on Wednesday, in what is being called the worst robbery the family-owned business has faced in over four decades.
Footage shared with ABC7 News of the break-in shows store owner and mother Diane, 69, desperately ducking for shelter as the robbers, clad in black, begin crashing through the small store.
In just seconds of entering, the masked group raised their weapons and started smashing down on the glass counters as Diane and another woman cowered behind the displays.
In January, thieves purloined an ATM from a Bank of America in Oakland in broad daylight
Video from the scene showed the ATM hitched to a white van with a cable, flying down the street as sparks sprayed from the pavement
The armed suspects continued to ransack the stock as the terrified women screamed for help and bravely attempted to grab what they could from the top of the destroyed cabinets.
In January, thieves stole an ATM from a Bank of America in Oakland in broad daylight, just down street from the city's only In-N-Out, which will soon close its doors amid soaring crime rates.
Video from the scene showed the ATM hitched to a white van with a cable, flying down the street as sparks sprayed from the pavement.
Oakland's mayor, Sheng Thao, will face a historic recall election in November amid anger over her failure to get a grip on the situation.
The progressive Democrat lawmaker is the first mayor in the city's history to be up for recall, after a campaign to oust her gained more than 40,000 signatures.
Critics are also angry that she missed an opportunity to apply for a $15 million retail theft grant, fired Oakland Police chief LaRonne Armstrong, 'for no cause' without appointing a successor and lost the Oakland A's baseball team.
Oakland's mayor, Sheng Thao, will face a historic recall election in November amid anger over her failure to get a grip on the situation
Progressive district attorney for Alameda County, which includes Oakland, is also facing a recall
Thao's opponents blame her progressive policies for the skyrocketing crime.
Among them was a bizarre proposal which suggested life coaching could help tackle homicides and other crimes.
The scheme was suggested as part of the city's ceasefire plan which had been dwindling until Thao took office.
Also facing a recall in November is the progressive district attorney for Alameda County, which includes Oakland.
Pamela Price's policies have been blamed for emboldening criminals and prioritizing their needs over those of crime victims.
