Public Safety and Investing In Youth
Reducing Gun Violence and Crime
Under Mayor Lee's leadership, violent crime dropped 22% and homicides fell 39% as of April 2026, with Oakland hitting a 58-year low in homicides in 2025 — earning recognition from the California Attorney General as a national model for community-based gun violence reduction. Additionally, burglaries are down 24% and robberies are down 23%. Mayor Lee’s Administration invested in five new police academies, expanded the Ceasefire program, convened a seven-city regional table to address gun violence as a public health crisis, invested in sideshow and human trafficking special OPD operations, and led community initiatives including Public Safety Town Halls reaching over 2,000 residents and two "Guns to Gardens" events that removed 147 firearms from Oakland streets.
Opportunities and Support for Young People
Mayor Lee expanded the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program to employ 1,050 young Oaklanders, restored the OPD Cadet program with nearly $950K in private investment, and through the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, the City is now serving more than 23,000 youth with learning, career, and life coaching services.
Celebrated a $1 million multi-year investment from nonprofit funder GreenLight Fund San Francisco Bay Area to bring Urban Peace Institute (UPI) to Oakland. UPI will establish a Peace Academy to train and support the city's frontline community violence intervention workforce in partnership with the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP).
Traffic Safety
Speed cameras have issued roughly 70,000 citations since launching in March 2026, and Mayor Lee secured $27 million in state funding for Embarcadero West rail safety improvements to make Oakland streets and transit corridors safer.
Alternative Response and Public Safety Careers Expanded MACRO response teams serving non-emergency calls citywide in a coordinated approach between law enforcement, violence prevention organizations, and community partners is helping make Oakland safer. Led coordination of local billboard campaign highlighting MACRO services and community response resources.
Public Safety by the Numbers
Reducing Gun Violence and Crime
Violent crime down 22%
Homicides down 39% as of April 2026
Oakland reached a 58-year low in homicides in 2025
Burglaries down 24%
Robberies down 23%
Oakland recognized by California Attorney General Rob Bonta as a national model for community-based violence reduction
Investments and Strategies
Led cross-agency partnership between the City of Oakland, Governor’s Office, Caltrans, Oakland City Councilmembers, and Alameda County to coordinate solutions and drive collaboration on this critical issue.
Funded five police academies with a sixth proposed in Measure E spending plan
Expanded Ceasefire violence prevention strategy
Expanded MACRO citywide
Convened seven-city regional gun violence prevention table
Invested:
$1.4 million to reduce sideshows
$700,000 to combat human trafficking
Partnered with CHP for targeted public safety operations
Advanced work toward exiting the NSA through accountability and constitutional policing reforms
Community Safety Initiatives
Hosted 20 Public Safety Town Halls with 2,000+ residents
Held two Guns to Gardens events removing 147 firearms
Expanded violence prevention workforce development programs
Celebrated $1 million multi-year investment from nonprofit funder GreenLight Fund San Francisco Bay Area to bring Urban Peace Institute (UPI) to Oakland. UPI will establish a Peace Academy to train and support the city's frontline community violence intervention workforce in partnership with the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP)
Investing in Young People
Expanded Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program serving 1,050 youth
Restored OPD Cadet Program with $950K in private investment from PG&E and Kaiser Permanente
Oakland Fund for Children and Youth and Department of Violence Prevention serving 23,000+ young people
Expanded summer programming, libraries, workforce development, and recreation opportunities
Fire Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Secured $10.3 million to keep every fire station open
Secured $1.5 million CAL FIRE grant
Cleared 1,300+ acres of fire risk vegetation
Conducted 16 Disaster Service Worker trainings and five emergency exercises