Businesses at the Lincoln Square shopping center in Oakland, California, are often robbed multiple times a week despite pleading for additional security and patrols from the city, CBS News Bay Area reported.
One business has been robbed so many times that it cannot meet its monthly rent, while a local Chevron next door to the shopping center has resorted to leaving its shutters and cash registers open to minimize the damage from robbers breaking in, according to CBS. The businesses have requested help from the police department and their property manager, but have seen no additional resources or security in the area.
“[They stole] less than $200 worth of stuff, but left $800 worth of damage on the windows,” Omar Rathod, the general manager at the Chevron, told CBS. “It’s not the first time, and it’s happening over and over again. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had three break-ins.”
Businesses in the shopping center have reported five robberies since the start of October, police records showed. Robberies committed with a firearm around the Oakland shopping center have increased 88% since 2022, while commercial burglaries have increased 46%, according to police data.
Crime in Oakland has taken a heavy toll on businesses in the area and forced many stores and restaurants to shutter over the past few months. Residents have blamed Soros-backed District Attorney Pamela Price for the increase in crime because of her soft-on-crime policies that let criminals out of jail early and reduce penalties for most crimes in the area.
Democratic Mayor Sheng Thao pledged to increase “community ambassadors” in business districts and announced a plan to install more license plate readers at traffic lights throughout the city, according to ABC7 News. But residents and local business owners said that they need more police officers to bolster crime response to stop the rampant lawlessness in the city.
“People driving down the streets have been robbed at gunpoint,” Ali Mohammed, a local store owner, told ABC7. “My store has been hit and it feels like there is no accountability for all of it.”
The Oakland Police Department and the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
Lillian Tweten on October 25, 2023
