I’d almost say there’s no bad guys in this one but in fact both the city and the department have been so blase about spending taxpayer money neither deserves sympathy. Of course, as usual, the people who will suffer will be the Oakland residents themselves who are being told once the layoff of around 80 officers go into effect, the police will no longer physically respond to a variety of crimes that include grand theft, burglary and identity theft. Citizens are told to report those crimes on-line:

Oakland’s police chief is making some dire claims about what his force will and will not respond to if layoffs go as planned.

Chief Anthony Batts listed exactly 44 situations that his officers will no longer respond to and they include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism. He says if you live and Oakland and one of the above happens to you, you need to let police know on-line.

Some 80 officers were to be let go at midnight last night if a last-minute deal was not reached.  That’s about ten percent of the work force.

The list of crimes they will no longer respond to is shocking, and frankly telling:

*  burglary
* theft
* embezzlement
* grand theft
* grand theft:dog
* identity theft
* false information to peace officer
* required to register as sex or arson offender
* dump waste or offensive matter
* discard appliance with lock
* loud music
* possess forged notes
* pass fictitious check
* obtain money by false voucher
* fraudulent use of access cards
* stolen license plate
* embezzlement by an employee (over $ 400)
* extortion
* attempted extortion
* false personification of other
* injure telephone/ power line
* interfere with power line
* unauthorized cable tv connection
* vandalism
* administer/expose poison to another’s

The vandalism is troubling because Oakland hosts a number of anarchist and communist groups who like to “smash capitalism” in a literal sense.

But take a look at the list again. A non-compliant sex offender/arsonist can break in your home, cut you phone line, steal your license plate and check books (and your dog!), use them to pretend they are you and purchase stuff fraudulently while pawning the jewelry they stole from you and the cops will not show up to take a report. Then if the person extorts money from you to get your stuff back and poisons you at the meeting, the cops are still going to be a no show.

Seriously, many of the crimes Oakland’s PD is deciding they will not show up for are the crimes committed by drug users and lefties, and in that area the two are one in the same. They are turning the city over to petty thieves and violent radicals and telling Oakland’s law abiding citizens to allow people to steal from them and break their stuff.

And that’s what they are telling them, remember California in general is not a self-defense friendly state and certainly not one where police accept the idea that you can injure others in defense of property. Store owners who fight off snatch and grabs will face charges or people who rough up a thief they catch in their car will find no police responding to his or her call for help, but a squad car coming to pull them in for assault.

Stores in Oakland should simply shut down now, rather than wait a few years as things get progressively worse. Home owners should take the loss, sell their house for whatever they can and leave to a city that will at least allow you to pepper spray a purse snatcher. Oakland is already burning, and they’ve ruin out of money to pay for water.

Get out while you can.

h/t Drudge