article

Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell (center) and Deputy Chief Fred Shavies (left) speak during a news conference. September 27, 2024

OAKLAND, California. – Oakland police said Friday they were investigating the city’s 69th homicide this year, which they called tragic but down nearly 30% from this time last year.

At a news conference, Deputy Chief Fred Shavies said the person was shot on Wilson Avenue shortly after 5:45 p.m. Thursday.

Shavies didn’t have many other details, including the name of the victim or the motive for the shooting.

But he noted that there have been 96 homicides in Oakland at the same time in 2023.

“So this is a reduction,” Shavies said. “But again, that’s 69 too many this year.”

Police Chief Floyd Mitchell added that the number of serious assaults was down 14 percent, as were rapes and sexual assaults. Thefts are down 24%.

Mitchell credited the work of the Ceasefire Program as well as the work of detectives and patrol officers.

He also said community members were willing to help and identify those involved in crimes.

“It’s a number of things,” Mitchell said.

Ceasefire is a program that aims to focus efforts on reducing violence perpetrated by 0.3% of Oakland’s population.

Operation Ceasefire, initially implemented in Oakland in 2011, has become a national model for combating gun violence, with a remarkable 42% reduction in homicides between 2012 and 2017.

The city abandoned the program during the COVID-19 pandemic and Mayor Sheng Thao reinstated it earlier this year.

Shavies stressed that the ceasefire is about more than its implementation.

This is a one-on-one communication between police, the Department of Violence Prevention and community organizations, such as Faith in Action East Bay, to tell people who may be involved in a crime to “drop the weapons.”

These people are then offered services, such as counseling, housing or other types of help.

“I think we’re seeing a huge rate of return in such a short period of time,” Shavies said.