On Tuesday, Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard provided its annual update of the Oakley Police Department including crime data to the city council.
Beard shared the department is allocated with 41 sworn positions and they are currently staffed at 40 — a jump from 68% to 87% occupancy. The increase in staffing also allowed Oakley police to fully staff investigations and traffic units. It also allowed them to open a new specialty unit (Special Services Team)
The data comes as California currently ranks 17th in national violent crime rates, with a 6.1% increase from 2021 to 2022. California had a slight decrease in homicides, but a significant 10.2% rise in robberies. California also ranks third among states with the highest vehicle theft rates—14 out of every 1,000 registered vehicles are reported stolen.
“As we have moved past COVID, all of the state of California, all of Contra Costa County, even Oakley itself, we have all experienced an increase in crime,” stated Chief Paul Beard noting that California was the 17th most violent state to be in. The state had a 6% increase in violent crime from 2021-22. “We had a slight decrease in homicides, but a significant increase in robberies.”
Beard explained what a criminal will typically do when they are not held accountable.
“What is a criminal going to do when a criminal is not held accountable. The criminal is going to commit crime. That is the framework of what is plaguing us all in these current times,’ stated Beard.
Beard shared that 14 out of every 1,000 registered vehicles are reported stolen which he added he has never seen the number this high as stolen vehicles are quite often used in other crimes.
In Oakley, however, they saw a 32% increase in stolen vehicles jumping from 111 in 2022 to 147 in 2023.
Oakley also saw an increase of homicides which jumped from 1 in 2022 to 2 in 2023.
- Dec 20 – Oakley Police Say 1 Dead in Shooting in Vintage Parkway
- Oct 21– Oakley: Murder and Firearm Assault Charges Filed Against Sean Karp
Also in 2023, officers were cleared in two officer involved shootings:
- DA Report Says Oakley Use of Force Justified in Shooting Death of Frank Correa
- DA Releases Report on Use of Force in Discovery Bay Incident
Oakley Police is allocated for 41 sworn positions, stand at 40 sworn positions—however, in 2022, the city only had 25 people operational working out of 37 positions.
Total Calls for Services – 20,048
- Priority 1 – 2,053 calls (emergency)
- Priority 2 – 2,838 calls (urgent)
- Priority 3 – 15,157 calls (non-urgent)
Calls for Service
- 2023 – 20,048
- 2022 – 25,003
- 2021 – 27,036
Beard called the 20% drop in calls for service an “anomaly” and he was still trying to figure out why.
“Some of that is related to work they have done, some of this are things I cannot answer for. I believe some of this is people just not calling for some types of incidents,” stated Beard.
Robberies:
Beard explained the jump in robberies is due to a single person going into the 4 retail centers, stealing property (essentially a petty theft), but then being confronted by an employee and that turn into a physical confrontation.’
“Because that physical confrontation is related to a theft, its classified as a robbery,” stated Beard who also pointed out that was not the case in all 23 robberies, including violent robberies with guns, but wanted to point out why the increase occurred.
Vehicle Thefts
He shared that up until last fall, they were even with previous years but then it increased. He added that it was not just Oakley, but the entire region got hit with more stolen vehicles. In Oakley, as of the presentation the city is at 23 stolen vehicles in 2024.
“Sounds bad, it is. I would like to see none. But there are other local jurisdictions in the hundreds and I feel horrible for what they are going thought but lets keep things in perspective if we can for what we do have going on here in Oakley,” shared Beard.
| 2022 | 2023 | Change % | |
| Murder | 1 | 2 | +100% |
| Rape | 4 | 4 | |
| Domestic Violence | 58 | 94 | 62% |
| Assault w/Deadly Weapon | 24 | 24 | |
| Robbery | 10 | 23 | 130% |
| Petty theft | 153 | 159 | 4% |
| Commercial Burglary | 26 | 32 | 24% |
| Residential Burglary | 24 | 27 | 12% |
| Auto Burglary | 48 | 48 | 0% |
| Vehicle Theft | 111 | 147 | 32% |
| TC Prop | 129 | 145 | 13% |
| TC Injury | 50 | 42 | -16% |
| TC Fatal | 2 | 3 | 50% |
| DUI | 67 | 57 | -15% |
| Total of Key Stats | 707 | 807 | +14% |
Oakley K9 Team
28 total deployments with 11 outside assists occurred in 2023. 18 of those incidents resulted in arrests or “give ups”. There were also zero reported use of force incidents. 10 of the 18 give-ups were related to stolen vehicles or pursuits.
School Resource Officer
29 total reports were taken with 24 of those reports being for battery investigations. Meanwhile, 16 mental health holds.
Special Services Team
- 21 Search Warrants
- 7 Probation/Parole searches
- 16 Task Force involvements
- 34 Arrests
- 48 Homeless interactions
- 89 Proactive stops
- 13 Business contacts
- 21 Intra-Department assists
- 11 Community events
- Mental Health Commitments dropped from 224 in 2022 to 188 in 2023 (-16%)
Traffic Unit
Only one officer between January 1 through June 30
- 73 citations written
Unit became fully staffed with three officers in July
- 487 citations written between July through December
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2 comments
I continue to be impressed with Chief Beard and the entire OPD. Thank you all for your continued efforts.
I Salute You with the
Utmost Respect
for the OPD
Lawlessness has become a
Great concern with today’s Society
Thank you for your Commitment and Untiring Efforts to
Keep our Community Safe
To the BEST of YOUR ABILITY
THANK YOU……
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