What Gangs are in Oakland

Oakland has been struggling with crime for a long time now. Residents of Oakland are hurting bad, they are seeing people shot and killed all the time. After a long time where homicides were down to a half century low in the 2010s, Covid hit, and the whole Bay Area say a huge upscale in gang violence. In Oakland alone, homicides went up more than 50% in 2021, with more than 100 murders for the first time in a long time. Oakland Gangs are a huge reason for this rise in crimes as well as the growing drug trade in the city.

Oakland is the largest city in Alameda County, it is a major West Coast port. With a population of almost 500,000 people it is the Bay Areas trading hub and center of its economy.

The Port of Oakland is the busiest port in Northern California.

With all this movement means a lot of ways to make money, legally and illegally.

Crime In Oakland

Oakland has a reputation for a lot things, gangs are nothing new. The 80s and 90s are known for the ongoing criminal activity.

Murder, muggings, break ins, car jackings, drug running, and drive-by shootings, it was a war.

Before that Oakland had the Black Panthers party HQ right on its front steps, which really made the Police in Oakland on edge witch set the tone for years to come.

Crime began to rise during the late 1960s and by the tail end of the 70s Oaklands per capita murder rate had rise to twice that of San Francisco, as well as New York City. By 1983 Oakland was the crime capital of the San Francisco bay area.

Crime continued to grow as the years went on, which made Oakland one of the most dangerous large cities to live or travel to.

Operation Ceasefire

In 2013 Oakland implemented a gang violence strategy to reduce crimes from Gang wars. This strategy includes three goals:

1. Reduce gang/group-related shootings and homicides: Ceasefire focuses on the most violent gangs/groups and individuals who are at the greatest risk of shooting or being shot. We communicate directly with individuals through large group meetings (“Call-Ins”) or by meeting with them one-on-one (“custom notifications”). Ceasefire includes community outreach, services, and support and, when necessary, multi-agency law enforcement action focused specifically on gangs/groups and individuals who continue to engage in violence.

2. Decrease recidivism and incarceration rates of individuals participating in the intervention: Outreach and support services are provided by the City of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention and its network of citywide community-based direct service organizations all dedicated to helping participants by offering real alternatives, resources, advocacy, mentoring life coaching.

3. Strengthen police-community relations: Vital to the success of the Ceasefire Oakland strategy are community and faith leaders. Partners like Faith In Action East Bay and the National Institution for Criminal Justice Reform provide leadership, advocacy, and resources from a community perspective that strengthen the spectrum of support for participants while pushing for mutual accountability and transparency among all partners in achieving the strategic goals.

List of Gangs in Oakland

Street Gangs

Prison Gangs

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