Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and California Attorney General Rob Bonta are sending state prosecutors to Oakland to charge serious crimes as the level of criminal activity continues to skyrocket in the city.
Newsom and Bonta are deploying deputy attorneys general from the California Department of Justice, and attorneys from the California National Guard to Alameda County, the governor and attorney general announced on Thursday. The partnership is “expected to be operational in the coming days.”
The prosecutors will assist District Attorney Pamela Price to “increase the capacity to prosecute suspects involved in violent crimes, serious drug-related crimes, and property crimes — including retail theft and auto burglary — in Oakland and the East Bay.”
“An arrest isn’t enough,” Newsom said in a statement. “Justice demands that suspects are appropriately prosecuted. Whether it’s ‘bipping’ or carjacking, attempted murder or fentanyl trafficking, individuals must be held accountable for their crimes using the full and appropriate weight of the law.”
Bonta said in a post to X announcing the program that he and Newsom are “committed to ensuring that justice is done so that Oakland residents can thrive and prosper.”
“The East Bay is my home, and I’m committed to ensuring that the people of Oakland can live and work in a safe community,” the attorney general said. “The California Department of Justice has legal and law enforcement expertise to bring to bear as we work collaboratively to hold bad actors accountable.”
Under the program, the California Department of Justice will continue to have “independent prosecutorial authority” and prosecute significant cases “targeting criminal networks in Oakland and the East Bay.” The number of prosecutors being deployed is not known. The prosecutors from the California National Guard will work as deputized assistant district attorneys and provide “investigative and analytical support” to locate criminal networks.
The prosecutor deployment builds on Newsom’s deployment of 120 California Highway Patrol officers to the East Bay on Tuesday and other investments that the governor has funneled into Oakland over the last few years. In August, Newsom deployed highway patrol officers and loaned up to $1.2 million to improve the area’s public safety.
“Following the Governor’s directive, CHP increased its presence in Oakland — arresting 100 suspected criminals and recovering 193 stolen vehicles,” according to Newsom’s office. “Across the Bay, the CHP’s special operation in San Francisco has resulted in over 460 arrests, 5,263 citations, and the seizure of over 18.1 kilograms of fentanyl.”
Price said in a statement that she welcomes the governor’s assistance to fight against “organized retail crime and the scourge of Fentanyl in our community.”
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This is the state’s most recent attempt to intervene in an area where rising crime has strained resources for prosecutors, police, and city and county leaders. The state of California on the whole has recently been plagued by a severe uptick in retail theft, which some prosecutors and law enforcement officials blame on the state’s Proposition 47. Known as Prop 47, the measure classifies nonviolent property crimes that do not exceed $950 in value as misdemeanors. Opponents of Prop 47 call the legislation “toothless” and believe it is to blame for the rise in shoplifting and other thefts.
In an effort to stem the flow of crime, Newsom announced a crime bill addressing retail theft that would propose new penalties for people who steal items and then try to resell them and also allow officers to arrest those suspected of crimes even if the officer did not witness the crime being committed.
