Oakland Business Leaders Step Up to Help Address Crime, Safety Issues

Four Bay Area Council member organizations, including Blue Shield of California, The Clorox Company, Kaiser Permanente and PG&E, last week announced a collaboration in which they are investing a combined $10 million on a security enhancement program to address growing concerns about crime and safety. The move comes as the Council continues its work with city, business and community leaders on strategies for improving safety in Oakland.

As described in a press release announcing the collaboration, “the program is designed to complement and augment the recent efforts of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, the Oakland Police Department, California Governor Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta to address crime, especially in the downtown area. Data  on Oakland’s government resource page shows crime remains a serious issue. Oakland is focused on addressing public safety and reducing crime rates, and these new initiatives are expected to further support overall crime reduction downtown.”

The release notes that the program has the support of Mayor Thao and comes as Oakland welcomes a new police chief, Floyd Mitchell. The Council was on hand last week when Mitchell’s appointment was formally announced.

All four companies have a history of making meaningful contributions to the city of Oakland, including dozens of active partnerships with local nonprofit organizations, thousands of ongoing employee volunteer hours, tens of millions of dollars donated to charitable causes and many contracts with local small and diverse businesses, according to the release.

“I’m so grateful for the deep collaboration of our four largest employers during this time of change and opportunity in Oakland and see this as an example of a strong public-private partnership,” said Oakland Mayor Thao. “I applaud their engagement as true civic leaders to improve conditions for everyone in the Uptown/Downtown community. Collectively we share a deep love and commitment to this beautiful city and linked arm in arm with the Governor and our top CEOs, I know we will be successful in quickly bringing safety, growth and vibrancy back to our streets.”