Oakland Crimespotting

If you're like me, you've long moved out of Oakland but your roots are still there. Whether it be your parent's house, your church, or your job, you find yourself in Oakland at least once a week. You wish Oakland was still the way it used to be growing up, but times have changed and it's hard to deny that even the "safer" parts of Oakland are no longer immune to crime.

Oakland Crimespotting is an informative interactive website on all the crime reports in Oakland. For the past year, I've been tracking the crime around my old house and it's pretty scary! I cringe when I read about the activities in my former backyard: burglary-forcible entry, carjacking-strong arm, assault, robbery-firearm, battery, etc. Wow.

On any given day/week, the map is just littered with colored spots indicating how much evil is lurking throughout the city. For those of us living in the suburbs, it's quite an eye-opener seeing so many colored spots daily. But then again, even in our own perceived, safe neighborhoods, I'm sure crimes are committed everyday also, but those are usually just theft and vandalism (non-violent). Also, we have the luxury of not knowing about them.

In 2010, there were 90 murders in Oakland. That's a decrease from the 120 in 2007, but still way too high. But it's not just the murders that scare me, it's the other assault, robbery and crimes of opportunities that has me on high alert at all times. Knowing that at any intersection, some gangbanger can blow through a red light and plow into you (yes, that happened to my friend on her way to her mom's house), that gives me reason to avoid the city as much as possible.

Just last month, three people were charged with 132 felony counts including TWO DOZEN home invasion robberies "targeting mostly immigrant families of Asian descent." Two happened on Wisconsin and Delaware streets, which is above MacArthur Blvd, the psychological border that separates the good from the not-so-good.

It's a given that Asians are targeted because we tend to be weak and carry a lot of cash/gadgets. Last year there were a few high profile cases involving black on Asian hate crimes. So it's hard not to assume the worst when seeing a group of ghetto teens with saggy pants and hoodies. That's why I avoid public parts of Oakland at night, even Chinatown. Even if I find a killer deal on Craigslist after dinner, it'll have to wait until the next day.

Below I've listed a few neighborhoods that my readers may have interest in. The easiest way to follow the action is to subscribe to the RSS feed.

Chinatown: 3X

Dimond/Upper Fruitvale: 22X

Coolidge to Crestmont: 22Y

Upper High Street: 25X

Montclair: 13Z

China Hill/Haddon: 15X

For those of you new to Oakland, let me just tell you a few streets to stay away from, especially at night: San Pablo, Seminary, 73rd, International, Foothill, Martin Luther King, anything below MacArthur, and any area around the Coliseum or a BART station.

Stay safe my friends.