Safety

Girls Inc. empowers Oakland girls with self-defense

Leah Goldstein is bobbing and weaving her way through a dozen girls poised to punch. Their tiny fists are held high, ready to strike. “Show me your fighting stance,” Goldstein says. “See how powerful you are? That’s enough to knock someone out if you hit them in the right spot.” The girls lunge at an invisible opponent. Sharp breaths cut through a chorus of giggles. Goldstein is leading a group of middle school girls in a self-defense course. The class…

High number of hit and runs in Oakland prompts new state funding

According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, a government agency that provides grants to local and state public agencies for programs to help them enforce traffic laws, Oakland has consistently had the highest rate of hit-and-run crashes of any large city in the state. “In 2014, there were 7,000 traffic collisions, of which 4,000 were hit and runs,” said Officer Glenn Hara, who works in the traffic investigation unit at the Oakland Police Department. Out of those cases, which include incidents with injuries and fatalities as well as more minor cases, such as damage to a parked car, OPD has solved fewer than 2 percent.

FBI, OPD joint task force increases homicide cases solved in Oakland

The Oakland Police Department and the FBI have been partnered together since June 2014 to tackle the large amount of homicide active and cold cases still under investigation. Almost a year later, a physical new joint workspace in the OPD administration building is now near completion and a new billboard campaign has been launched, resulting in a staggering significant amount of cases that are being solved.