Crime and chronic underinvestment in public safety have weakened Oakland’s economy, according to a recent report from the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, a San Francisco-based think tank.
The 57-page study, published earlier this month, argues that Oakland’s high crime rate relative to similar-sized cities, persistent police understaffing, and erosion of public trust in government have made residents and visitors less willing to patronize Oakland businesses. This decline in economic activity, the authors contend, has led to reduced tax revenue and a destabilized city budget.
Calling for a “new approach” to policymaking and budgeting, the report’s authors — Jeff Bellisario, executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, and Laura Hill, senior policy director at the Bay Area Council — argue a fundamental reordering of city priorities could reverse the city’s ongoing economic stagnation…