Oakland mayor delivers State of the City to address crime, public safety

OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao delivered her first State of the City address on Tuesday where she outlined her first 10 months in office and laid out her plans for the future of Oakland.

She underscored that public safety and violent crime are still her number one priorities.

In her first year alone, she's fired the police chief, seen an increase in violent crime and homicides and watched many long-time small businesses close down. 

Several community meetings have been held with worried residents wondering what the mayor is going to do about the crime rates; just this weekend, there were seven shootings and three homicides, which now total 103.

Thao said the city has been investing more in its Ceasefire programs and working with the state for support, which includes putting 12 foot patrol officers back on the streets and bringing in highway patrol officers to monitor the roads. 

"This remains my top priority, I think I have shown that by working with OPD, our Department of Violence Protection, we see we are getting the people who are creating the chaos and trauma, off our streets," Thao said. 

Oakland has been without a permanent police chief since February, and the Oakland Police Commission is behind the search in replacing him. 

Sheng is investing millions in the city's 911 system to improve call times and dispatch efficiency.

And Oakland is expecting a budget shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars over the next two years.