Koteras_UP504 Podcast Final Draft_Crime and Policing in Oakland, CA

In this epidsode, we take a look at the issue of violent crime in Oakland, California from a holistic public health perspective to reframe the conversation around urban violence. The goal of this project is to explore the role of public institutions and historic patterns of segregation in creating the disparate outcomes between different neighborhoods. Oakland is a truly beautiful port city nestled between San Francisco and the East Bay hills, but it is also a place of stark inequality. With a poverty rate of around 14%, the former industrial powerhouse has perhaps more in common with rust belt cities of the Midwest than it does with the greater West Coast. Last year, there were 102 homicides in the city up sharply from the 78 recorded in 2019. While many have attributed this increase to the economic slowdown created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the troubling statistics coming out of Oakland mirror national trends of increasing urban violence.

Rather than treating crime as a personal or moral failing on the part of individuals, this project pushes back against dominant narratives shaped by reaction and fear. To understand how the city got to this point, we explore the history of redlining and contemporary issues of housing affordability to frame the conversation. This piece also makes the argument that economic inequality made worse by the tech boom has contributed to rising crime. The idea of accumulation by dispossession is central to this argument since the rich seem to keep getting richer, while the poor suffer in disinvested neighborhoods without adequate resources. To showcase just how segregated Oakland is, two neighborhoods are analyzed - one wealthy and one poor - by looking at crime stats, household income, and racial composition. 

While the trends in urban violence have been going in the wrong direction especially over the past 2 years, there may be hope on the horizon as forward-thinking planners and policymakers increasingly recognize the historic role of the state in fueling structural inequality. To imagine a brighter future for all Oaklanders, the podcast concludes by proposing three policy interventions that may help address the rooot causes of crime. Of course there is no cure-all solution within the modern Americna policital economy, but ideas around community policing, building affordable housing, and eliminating blight may represent a starting point for finding real meaningful change. 

Bibliography

Beckett, L. (2020, June 26). Oakland moves to bar police from schools as bigger cities reject change. The Guardian. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/25/police-schools-oakland-chicago-los-angeles

Bhattacharya, A. B. (2018). Analysis of the Factors Affecting Violent Crime Rates in the US. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research, 10(5). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3732028&download=yes

City of Oakland. (2021, November 17). Oakland Crime Data and Crime Maps. City of Oakland Police Department. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/police-incident-data

Federal Bureau of Investigations. (2019). Crime in the United States: CALIFORNIA Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by City, 2019. FBI.Gov. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/table-8/table-8-state-cuts/c...

Hegarty, P. (2021, June 25). Oakland cuts $18M from police budget to pay for social services. Police1. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://www.police1.com/police-administration/articles/oakland-cuts-18m-from-police-budget-to-pay-fo...

Lopez, G. (2016, July 19). 6 proven policies for reducing crime and violence without gun control. Vox. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.vox.com/2016/2/15/10981274/crime-violence-policies-guns

Mendiola-Ross, A., & Treuhaft, S. (2020, September 21). Who Is Low-Income and Very Low Income in the Bay Area? Bay Area Equity Atlas. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://bayareaequityatlas.org/node/60841

Mitchell, B., PhD. (2021, November 10). HOLC “redlining” maps: The persistent structure of segregation and economic inequality ». National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://ncrc.org/holc/

NBCUniversal Media. (2021). Local News. NBC Bay Area. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.nbcbayarea.com/

Orenstein, N. (2021, May 19). Behind on its affordable housing goals, Oakland looks to buy, not just build. The Oaklandside. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://oaklandside.org/2021/05/18/behind-on-its-affordable-housing-goals-oakland-looks-to-buy-not-j...

Rodríguez C “che.” “The Whole Damn System Is Guilty”: Urban Violence, the Principal Contradiction of Racial Capitalism, and the Production of Premature Death in Oakland, California. Critical Sociology. 2020;46(7-8):1057-1074. doi:10.1177/0896920520923429

Statista. (2021, November 10). Most dangerous cities in the U.S. 2020, by violent crime rate. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/217685/most-dangerous-cities-in-north-america-by-crime-rate/

The Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy. (2014). Crime Trends in the City of Oakland: A 25 Year Look (1987–2012). University of California Berkeley School of Law. Published. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Crime_Trends_in_the_City_of_Oakland_-_A_25-Year_Look.pdf

The Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy. (2013). What Works in Community Policing? A Best Practices Context for Measure Y Efforts. University of California Berkeley School of Law. Published. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/What_Works_in_Community_Policing.pdf

University of Pennsylvania. (n.d.). Partnering with communities, Building healthy neighborhoods, Creating evidence. ​. Urban Health Lab. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.urbanhealthlab.org/