Oakland, CA Sees Steady Decline In Crime
According to a recent police date, crime is about 20% lower than in 2008. There have been 37 homicides as of May 6 this year compared to 47 for the same period last year; 7,585 property crimes compared to 6,005 last year; and 2,733 car thefts compared to 1,934 last year. After four years of rising violent crime — which was more than 50% higher last year compared to 2004 — the city finally appears to be on a downswing.
I found this information thanks to the San Francisco Gate’s website. Even more interesting is a site they have recommended if you would like to keep up to date on Oakland’s crime numbers. It’s called Oakland Crimespotting and it’s an independently run website which offers interactive maps of crimes in Oakland. Using data published on CrimeWatch, the city’s community crime mapping website, the service allows you to browse crime reports by day and by type and to sign up to receive e-mail alerts and RSS feeds for crime reports in your neighborhood. This site is amazing you can even call up police beat maps and see what has been going on in that sector. I wish all cities had something like this, ran by an independent source.
