The troubling spike in violence in Oakland has the community on edge.
Viral videos, including one recently where a good samaritan during a purse snatching incident who intervened wound up getting shot, have contributed to the increasing feeling that crime is on the rise.
"We continue to see incidents that we are concerned about," Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said Tuesday morning while speaking with KCBS Radio’s Holly Quan and Dan Mitchinson.
In response to the recent purse snatching, Armstrong said that while he appreciated the good Samaritan stepping in "we don’t want people to put themselves at harm’s risk," he said.
"We just want people to know that they should call and report what they see and let officers respond so that we can address the issue," he said.
The surge in violence is no different in Oakland from other major cities across the country dealing with challenges brought on by the pandemic, said Armstrong. And those challenges were felt among policing as well.
"How do you adjust police practices to make sure you address violence?" He asked. "I think it took us some time to get a better understanding of how to do that."
It hasn’t helped that recruitment has been difficult, he said. "We are trying to rebuild our department, we are trying to reshape our reputation as a department."
Although things have improved with reopenings, there are still far too many shootings, said Armstrong. "And the proliferation of firearms in our community is definitely concerning."
Going forward in the coming months, Armstrong plans to continue "working with the community, building trust," he said.
"The police department will not be able to solve crime by itself," said Armstrong.