CHP begins traffic enforcement in Oakland to help curb crime

For the first time since Chinatown leaders pleaded for help amid a wave of violent crimes, six California Highway Patrol officers enforced traffic Sunday in parts of Oakland, authorities said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed to send the CHP about a month ago.

The officers worked from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and focused their efforts on traffic infractions, including speeding, reckless driving, sideshows and seat belt and cell phone violations, said CHP Capt. Stephen Perea.

The CHP is focusing on high injury networks in Oakland, which includes 34 corridors and 22 intersections. On Sunday, the officers were stationed in downtown and West Oakland, Perea said.

“Our focus for the Highway Patrol is these areas and proactively enforcing the vehicle code,” Perea said. “Not every stop ends in a citation. Not every stop ends in an arrest. It’s just one of those things where it really depends on the situation.”

Perea did not have figures on how many arrests or citations were made Sunday.

Mayor Libby Schaaf and police Chief LeRonne Armstrong announced Friday that CHP would begin enforcement over the weekend.

Schaaf said she was thankful for Newsom and the CHP commissioner for partnering with the city to boost police resources to address “dangerous traffic activity.”

“All of our residents deserve safer streets in their neighborhoods,” she said.

The increased presence comes after leaders in Chinatown had called on the governor to declare a state of emergency. Their insistence for more police support prompted Schaaf to ask for CHP officers to be sent to the city’s major commercial corridors and along International Boulevard. The move prompted criticism from activists who said more police can harm Black and brown communities.

Armstrong said that with the CHP’s help, the department hopes to “eradicate this illegal sideshow epidemic that has caused so many sleepless nights for our residents here in Oakland.”

On Sunday, no sideshows were reported, Perea said.

The Highway Patrol is expected to help the Oakland Police Department through the end of September. Officers will enforce traffic on city streets every weekend, said Johnna Watson, a spokeswoman for the Police Department.

Watson said the department will measure the CHP’s success based on whether its presence deters sideshows and reduces speeding, reckless driving, driving under the influence and collisions.

The assistance is funded through state grants, Perea said. He said he was not sure of the exact cost. But, he said, the number of officers deployed to Oakland will depend on staffing availability. The Oakland shifts are overtime.

“We are happy to do it,” Perea said. “It’s just one of those things where staffing is obviously an issue kind of everywhere right now.”

But, he added, that Oaklanders “should expect us anytime.”