The Oakland Police Department stands with our community in the wake of the violence occurring overnight and throughout the day. This year, the City of Oakland has suffered 90 murders compared to 81 at this time last year - an 11% increase. As previously shared in updates and messages today, and visible in the day's headlines, five of these murders have occurred since last evening.
OPD relies on intelligence-led policing and crime analysis technology to help narrow the Department's focus on the most dangerous offenders and activities in our City. Our concentration takes form through a variety of means: dedicated outreach, education, and prevention efforts, intelligence-led and street level enforcement entailing officers to intervene through lawful detention, arrest, and firearm recovery, and focused criminal investigations to bring offenders to trial.
But more importantly, we need community help and support for success within each strategy – especially when it comes to providing information which may lead to a violent crime being solved.
Understanding the realities of persons’ reluctances to come forward, Nixle.com has agreed to respond to our need through our use of their anonymous text tipping system, Tip Watch. These web-based or text tip messages are anonymously sent, and even offer investigators the ability to correspond with anonymous senders in order to obtain additional information, detail, or to advise the sender of the results of their tip.
Nixle Tip Watch will be brought on-line and in use by the Oakland Police Department beginning tomorrow. Tip Watch is in addition to existing methods of providing information and tips to investigators, but we are hopeful that its use is embraced since it is the most secure, convenient, and anonymous method available to share information with us. A detailed description of Nixle Tip Watch, and instructions on its use and capabilities, will be shared tomorrow at launch.
We are grateful to Nixle.com for providing us this capability, and we look forward to its successful use in our mission to address crime and provide our community public safety.
