North Oakland residents attended a public safety forum at Oakland Technical High School, expressing their concerns about rising crime rates in their neighborhoods and urging city officials to take action according to The Oaklandside. City Council Member Dan Kalb hosted the forum in response to an increased number of robberies in Rockridge, Temescal, and other parts of the city.

Many residents criticized city officials at the forum, accusing them of being ineffective in the face of public safety threats. With the city experiencing a $360 million budget deficit, Mayor Sheng Thao has proposed cuts to virtually every city department, including freezing vacant police officer positions and reducing the amount spent on police overtime.

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Some local business owners have experienced a negative impact from the rising crime rates and are hesitant to handle cash, fearing armed robberies according to the San Francisco Chronicle. This is partially due to the spate of robberies that took place along College Avenue, Rockridge neighborhood's shopping corridor that has become a new hotspot for burglaries and robberies.

Evoking frustration at the town hall, attendees called for more police officers and harsher punishments, including for juveniles. Oakland has experienced a 22% increase in robberies and an 18% increase in violent crime over the previous year.

One solution to address crime has been the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), which focuses on offering services, counseling, and other assistance to those involved in violent crime in an effort to break cycles of trauma and turn lives around. However, Kentrell Killens, the interim chief of DVP, drew anger from some attendees at the town hall, who accused him of being a "liar".

At the same time, other community members have shown support for non-police public safety programs, protesting outside Oakland City Hall against cuts to violence prevention as mentioned on The Oaklandside. Some residents expressed concern that targeting police personnel would lead to profiling and unjust targeting of certain communities.