Oakland undercover officers on graveyard shift to combat overnight break-ins

OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland police on Thursday announced they would be extending their holiday safety plan as the city moves forward to crack down on business burglaries, which are seeing break-ins occur.

Police explained how they're strengthening their ability to fight crime during their graveyard shifts by transferring undercover officers to the commercial burglary team.

Deputy Chief James Beere said the department has assigned officers on special assignment from patrol from three areas to work with the Ceasefire unit.

"So we'd have undercover officers as well as additional resources on site to take the criminals into custody, conduct really intense preliminary investigations, work with our criminal investigation unit and our investigators to hold those accountable, issue warrants for their arrests, and arrest them," Beere said at a news conference attended by Mayor Sheng Thao. 

The department said it is also trying to increase accountability and plan to modernize its technology in an effort to disrupt criminal networks.