Crime has surged in Oakland since pandemic, leveled off in San Jose, San Francisco

Oakland’s crime rate, consistently higher than the Bay Area’s other big cities, has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic, while the rates in San Francisco and San Jose have leveled off, an analysis of California Department of Justice data shows. The data presents a striking contrast between the Bay Area’s biggest cities at a time when crime has become a growing concern across the region. An August poll by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found voters statewide are lining up 2-to-1 to support a November ballot measure to toughen penalties...