Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

‘I Urge You To Reconsider’: Gavin Newsom Pleads With Crime-Ridden City To Allow More Police Chases

(Screen Capture/ABC7 News Bay Area)

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to Oakland city officials on Friday asking them to change their policy regarding the pursuit of criminals amid soaring crime.

Newsom sent the letter to Oakland’s mayor, city council and police department encouraging officials to take a harsher position on crime and allow for criminals to be pursued when fleeing officers, which Newsom points out that the current policy does not allow. Current Oakland police protocol only allows for criminals to be chased under strict circumstances, such as when a firearm is involved, but does not warrant pursuit in most other cases, even for violent misdemeanors.

“CHP has brought to my attention that they observed criminals often fleeing with impunity because it’s common knowledge that the Oakland Police Department’s (“OPD”) pursuit policy allows vehicle pursuits in only very limited circumstances,” Newsom wrote in the letter. “I urge you to reconsider whether OPD should be permitted to pursue suspects in more circumstances.”

Newsom argued that Oakland is an outlier amongst California jurisdictions in its limited pursuit policy, which only allows pursuits in cases of “violent forcible crimes” and crimes involving firearms, according to the letter.

“Unlike in nearly all other California jurisdictions, local police in Oakland cannot pursue individuals suspected of committing many felonies, any misdemeanor, even if violent, and other offenses that endanger public safety, such as reckless driving, sideshow activity, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” the letter wrote.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom talks to reporters in the spin room following the FOX Business Republican Primary Debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on September 27, 2023 in Simi Valley, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Crime in Oakland surged in 2023, with motor vehicle theft up 44%, robbery up 38%, violent crime up 21% and overall crime up 17% from the previous year, as of December.

The governor said the policy is partially to blame for the city’s high crime and pointed to efforts he had already launched to combat crime statewide, such as investing over $1.1 billion into public safety efforts and increasing criminal penalties. On July 17, Newsom announced he was quadrupling the state police presence in Oakland, stationing officers in the city 162 times per week compared to the previous 42 shifts, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Oakland City Council issued a review of the pursuit policy in May, according to the Chronicle.

The mayor of Oakland, Sheng Thao, is facing a recall election in November due largely to the crime wave. Thao was elected in 2022, promising police reform, yet the city lacked a police chief for nearly a year under Thao’s watch after she fired Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong in what the group pushing for the recall says was an “unjust” move.

Thao’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.