Oakland Crime Rate Soaring as City Loses Officers
OAKLAND (KCBS) - Burglaries are up a startling 43 percent in Oakland this year compared to last, part of an ever-growing crime problem in the city.According to the latest numbers from the Oakland Police Department, more than 11,000 homes, cars or businesses have been broken into so far this year - translating to about 33 burglaries a day. The most popular targets have been cars with more than 5,700 burglarized so far this year.
One of the most likely reasons for the sharp uptick in crime - city officials said they believe it's the gradual loss of police officers from the force.
The city could be down to a little more than 600 officers by February, which would be 200 fewer than in 2008. Even with another 40 expected to graduate from Police Academy, they will be rookies and there is already talk of trying to contract with outside agencies for support.
In other words, when the government "saves money" by scrimping on keeping the citizens safe, the citizens lose money -- and safety. Not that this is a surprise; it's just something the Left tells us we're not supposed to think about when it touts its phony "smart on crime" proposals. In Leftist lingo, you see, "smart on crime" means doing things we know in advance will increase crime.
Another tenet of the "smart on crime" set--ignore property crime as de minimus or the cost of living in a diverse, progressive society. Only violent crime deserves condemnation.