- 2 years ago
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and officials from California Highway Patrol unveiled new safety operations.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00be joined today by our Governor, Governor Gavin Newsom and Chief Floyd Mitchell of the Oakland
00:04Police Department. I'm going to give you a little update on what CHP's efforts have been in Oakland.
00:09I look forward to hearing from Chief Mitchell and the Governor as well. CHP in August of 2023
00:16deployed a team of officers to Oakland to assist the Oakland Police Department. Their mission,
00:22their assignment was proactive enforcement targeting vehicle theft, highway violence,
00:27organized crime, in view patrol. We called this Operation Safe Streets. Operation Safe Streets
00:34laid the groundwork for our larger law enforcement surge back in February of this year when we
00:40deployed 120 officers and investigators to the greater East Bay. This was a joint effort with
00:47our partners throughout Alameda County and Oakland including Oakland Police Department,
00:51Alameda County Sheriffs. During this surge, our officers conducted a variety of enforcement
00:57operations focused on traffic safety, auto theft, retail theft, cargo theft. These are central to
01:05the CHP's mission of providing the highest level of safety, service, and security to the people
01:10of California. The February operation was a success and yielded impressive results quickly
01:17leading to the formation of a CHP dedicated crime suppression team in the East Bay.
01:25This team has been patrolling Oakland's hotspots including some of the ones
01:32on Broadway, Hagenberger area, all in addition to the work of the CHP's Golden Gates
01:37Special Services Unit which is conducting multi-agency sideshow street racing operations,
01:43combating vehicle theft, recovering stolen cargo containers at the Port of Oakland,
01:48tackling fencing operations at Oakland flea markets, and combating commercial vehicle
01:53violations in or about Oakland. To date, these operations have resulted in over 560
02:00arrests by CHP including 156 felony arrests, the recovery of more than 1,100 stolen vehicles,
02:08and the seizure of 55 firearms. Before I turn to Chief Mitchell, I would just say the crime
02:17that we're witnessing and seeing in Oakland is unacceptable and at the Governor's direction,
02:22the CHP is stepping up and will further our efforts to ensure the safety of our community.
02:28The people of Oakland, the people of California deserve to have a community that's safe.
02:32The CHP is all in. We'll be doubling down our efforts to support the Oakland PD and assist
02:37them ensuring that the people of Oakland have the safe community that they deserve. Chief Mitchell.
02:46Good morning and first of all, I want to thank Governor Newsom for making the investment in
02:52Oakland and doing everything that he can from his level and from his seat to make Oakland safer.
02:58Yesterday, I got to spend most of the day in East Oakland talking to the business owners about some
03:04of the crime that we've been facing here in Oakland. I think it's important to understand
03:08that the cooperation and coordination that we have not only with the Governor's office
03:12and CHP and our other law enforcement officers within Alameda County and the Bay Area is strong.
03:20We continue to work with our federal partners to address crime and the perception of crime within
03:26the Alameda County and Oakland itself. I think it's important to also shout out to Mayor Tao for
03:35advocating for the citizens of Oakland to the Mayor's office, I'm sorry, to the Governor's office
03:39to get this additional assistance for our individuals or for our community here in Oakland.
03:45So I look forward to the continued cooperation with the California Highway Patrol and our
03:52officers, the ceasefire program to address the crime issues that we have faced that we are facing
03:58here in Oakland and with that I'll turn it over to the Governor. Appreciate it. Thank you Chief and
04:02thank you to Commissioner, thank you to men and women of the Oakland Police Department, our partners
04:07in this effort. As the Commissioner noted, we initiated some proactive policing late last year
04:13here in Oakland. We stepped that up significantly in February with an operation to target and to
04:19saturate areas of Oakland with aggressive policing that addressed some of the heightened
04:26concerns that many of the residents and business leaders had experienced. We saw great initial
04:32success. We committed not to turn our back and walk away to the people of Oakland but we were
04:38sober about the fact that the CHP has operations all across the state of California and cannot
04:44supplement the work that's done by local law enforcement but can enhance it. Our job was to
04:51focus here on Oakland but also to focus on other regions including areas in and around the Bay Area.
04:59Regions by the way now across the state that include Bakersfield where we've been running
05:04similar operations. The last two weeks we've been down in Riverside. We'll be talking highlighting
05:09more about the success of that early operation or at least the success of the last few weeks
05:13early part of that operation in the coming weeks and days. But we're back here in Oakland mindful
05:20that there's still more work to be done, mindful that we need to step up our efforts and step up
05:25our resources. We're going to move the California Highway Patrol from 42 shifts that they're
05:30currently operating in Oakland. We're going to increase that fourfold. We're going to have 162
05:36shifts starting next week. We're going to focus over the course of the next four months. This is
05:42not a permanent operation. It can't be a permanent operation. It's not the job of the California
05:46Highway Patrol. But over the course of the next four months we're committing to keep up the
05:51intensity of this operation that as the commissioner noted has already generated 1,162 stolen vehicles
06:01that have been recovered. 1,162. 562 arrests as the commissioner noted and now 55-56 guns that are
06:10linked to crimes specifically. That's the operation to date. It's been successful and now we're moving
06:18into this next phase. We also are mindful that we need to be more aggressive as it relates to
06:23the investigations and accountability, the prosecutions of some of these cases.
06:27Yes, we've been disappointed. The lack of engagement with the DA's office and so we're
06:34moving forward. Rather than complaining about it, rather than lamenting about it, we're going to
06:39be moving some of the prosecution to the state of California, the Attorney General's office,
06:45for again targeted prosecution. This is not the job of the AG's office to assume all the
06:51responsibility of the Alameda County DA's office. Quite the contrary. But we want to
06:55lessen the load. We want to address some of the more complex cases. So we'll take
06:59case by case. The AG's office could talk more about specific cases
07:04another time, but the idea is to supplement and support those efforts at the local DA's office
07:11to move forward. Unfortunately, our offer to provide California CalGuard, which we refer
07:17to as JAGS, along the lines of what we did very successfully in partnership with Brooke Jenkins
07:23in San Francisco, that was not enthusiastically embraced. So we have to move forward with a new
07:28approach with our Attorney General and our Department of Justice. So we're moving in that
07:34direction as well. I'll remind folks that this was not just a law enforcement only program. Quite
07:39the contrary. I met with the leaders in the community and we said this was a holistic,
07:43bottom-up approach. Those ongoing unprecedented investments in community building continue.
07:49We were able to hold the line broadly with our two-year budget, balanced budget, not just for
07:54this year, but next year, and maintaining the vast majority of those investments here in Oakland
08:00and Alameda. That includes a 10-point plan with Caltrans on beautification, on cleaning up.
08:06I've been very directly involved in that. I feel like a mayor again, back out there on the streets,
08:11rolling up my sleeves, cleaning up some of these streets and encampments and doing some of the
08:15beautification work. That work continues. We're not walking away from that as well. But look, I'm not
08:19the mayor of Oakland. I'm not a member of the County Board of Supervisors of Alameda County.
08:26Our job is not to substitute, but again, to support the work that's being done. I want to
08:30thank the mayor's office for being a partner in these proactive programs as it relates to the
08:36policing. Not a sparring partner, a working partner as it relates to these works. That's
08:41why I'm very grateful the chief is here. And I'm very grateful for the partnership and the open
08:45hand of support the chief has provided the men and women from the Highway Patrol. Final point,
08:52just deep respect for our Highway Patrol. I've been saying this over and over and over again.
08:59This is the Swiss army knife of law enforcement in this state. You've seen them all up and down
09:03the state, not just out there doing their traditional work on the freeways and keeping us
09:08safe, working to make sure people are getting home and getting through their day-to-day lives.
09:15But they've been asked and tasked to do work on fentanyl interdiction. They've been asked and
09:19tasked to do work on retail theft. They've been asked and tasked to do work on campuses. And they
09:24continue to meet the call over and over again, including, by the way, the call to reinforce
09:30the ranks. And I want to just thank the commissioner. We've committed to over a
09:34thousand new CHP officers. I think we've got an academy class this week. You've got over 100
09:38new cadets. We're on pace. We're making progress there as well that will allow us to supplement
09:44and support more of these efforts down the line in the state. Final point, one of the highlighted
09:50areas for this state has been addressing the issues of retail theft, organized retail theft,
09:55the smash and grab, the issues that have been highlighted over and over again. If you haven't
10:00been paying attention, turn on your social media. We've been very focused on that for years now.
10:07You may recall Long Beach, we were police chiefs from up and down the state of California years
10:12ago, announcing a new task force with the California Highway Patrol, working with our
10:16investigators, the National Guard, to support our efforts to address retail theft, organized retail
10:22theft. We provided unprecedented grants to cities and counties up and down the state. You may recall
10:26over a year ago, about $267 million specifically for new grants for vertical prosecution,
10:32investigations, and technology related to the issues of organized retail theft. I say all that
10:37to make this point. I also want to highlight the work the California Highway Patrol has been doing
10:41with our partners. Year to date, 167 percent increase in the number of arrests related to
10:48those task force efforts. So they're paying dividends and we want to see more work done now
10:53that all that money has been distributed, hundreds of millions of dollars, money in the past never
10:59existed, real money to support sheriffs, to support local municipalities in these efforts going
11:05forward. So we're continuing to stay on that and very mindful of the stress and anxiety that
11:12many people are feeling in that area as well. With that, of course, we're here to answer any questions.
11:17Governor, I have a question about this $267 million. One of the big problems is looking at yourself.
11:24That was an example of hours of investigation. Hours. And it was a massive theft. On top of that,
11:32you were right behind the mayor and her staff missed that particular application. Now you have
11:39another. Basically, turn down your request to give them free services from train.
11:54No, that's why I'm back. And well, yeah, chief is a strong opinion. I'll defer to him.
12:00So first of all, I want to clarify something in regards to the you're talking about the 76 gas
12:04station. And again, I'm very new. I'm very I'm very well. Okay. I thought you're talking about
12:11the 76 gas station. But I want to I want to address that because you said you said it took
12:15hours for us to respond. So I want to address that situation because I think it's very important.
12:19First of all, me and my executive staff, we're going to take any crime within the city of Oakland
12:24very seriously. I met with Sam yesterday at 76 gas station in regards to the incident that
12:28occurred this past weekend following a sideshow activity. And what I explained to the business
12:36owner, Sam, and we had a good conversation before we came out and spoke to the media because I
12:41wanted them to understand that we had a conversation about what occurred. What occurred that that day
12:46is the information that was provided to our dispatch. First of all, it came in an hour later
12:52than the event that happened. Everyone had left the the location. And beyond that,
12:59when his employee communicated what had happened to his business, it was prioritized as a property
13:07crime at that point in time. So the call was delayed. And one of the things that we talked
13:12about in detail yesterday and the deputy chief Casey Johnson is doing is we are spending some
13:18time educating our business owners on what to say when they have crimes occur at their business.
13:24So I agree with you. No business should have what happened to him happen to him. But we also need
13:29to make sure we're partnering with our business owners to educate them on what they need to
13:34communicate to us so we provide the proper response. So I do want to clarify that because
13:39I didn't want the governor to get up here and have to explain why there was a delay in the response.
13:43There was a delay in response in regards to number of reasons. So I'll let you address that
13:48other piece. But we are working with our business owners to make sure that we are responding
13:52appropriately based on the information that they can provide us. But it's also our responsibility
13:57to educate not only our business owners, but our public on when you dial 9-1-1, communicate the
14:02proper information so we can prioritize the call properly so you can get the appropriate response.
14:07I'm not up on the jewelry store. So I'll be more than happy. I'll be more than happy to meet with
14:14you after this to fight this information. But I can't. You're asking me something that I don't
14:17know about. So, you know, and you're shaking your head like, you know, I'm supposed to know about
14:21that. When if you want to get with me afterwards, I got my PIO here. We can address that specific
14:25situation. Thanks. So look, we're here to try to solve problems and and address these challenging
14:34issues. We're here not solve for every incident or at least try to reflect on each one, but solve
14:40for a pattern. The pattern continues to persist. And so we're stepping up our efforts to support
14:45the community, to support law enforcement. We've made a firm commitment. We've seen the fruits of
14:49that over the course of last number of months. Unprecedented resources. I agree with you. Let
14:54me express just deep frustration that we put out money for the city and they didn't apply for the
14:59grant. So I'm going to answer that quite directly. Very frustrated by that. But that frustration
15:06can turn into despair and cynicism and we could turn our back. But I'm never going to turn my
15:11back on this community. I love Oakland needs to heal. It's a great community. Deep roots here.
15:18And I said I would come back in February. I've been back five or six times since high profile
15:25efforts. Now we're back significantly forcefully to address these concerns
15:30that have been highlighted not only by the question, but continue to be highlighted by
15:33members of the community. Good morning, Governor. Travis Gilmore with the Epoch Times. Some Alameda
15:38County residents believe that criminals are emboldened by the district attorney's reluctance
15:42to prosecute some cases. Is it similar concerns that led to the redeployment of the prosecutors?
15:47And when can we expect to see the attorney general picking up these cases? Well, they're they're
15:50already moving on that. The AG's office. Look, we we put out a letter detailing this process,
15:57and it was clear to me that it was it was just we were just extending for time and there wasn't a
16:03sincere commitment to follow through on the offer. As you know, the head of the unit on Narcotics
16:10Unit actually has left. So now the unit has no supervisor and actually no personnel. We expressed
16:17frustration with that. They said, well, we'll do interviews and resumes. And we talked about
16:22the urgency of now. This moment we're living in enough. We all have to step up. We all have to
16:28be accountable. All of us have to step up and be accountable. It's a serious moment,
16:32moment of confidence, a crisis for members of the community. People have lived here for years and
16:36years and not seen it like this. People deserve better. They deserve more and they deserve all
16:41of us to be better and do more. And that's why I'm back in this expression and rather again than
16:47lament about it and just spend all my time pointing fingers, we're now working around this.
16:53And the AG's office said yes, and then we will redeploy those resources, the JAG resources,
17:01and support the efforts of the DOJ and then support his other efforts. As you may recall,
17:06a few years back with the attorney general, we created a new unit, a retail theft unit specific
17:11to that issue in the Department of Justice as well. We've resourced that over the last few years.
17:17So he's in a very good place to be very supportive. And of course,
17:20your attorney general happens to be from this county, so it's personal to him as well.
17:26And on a positive note, Ken Houston, better known to locals as the son of Oakland,
17:30he's the director of the Beautification Council. This is a nonprofit that is delivering results
17:35and they are doing this by showing compassion and dignity and respect and employing homeless
17:41and justice impacted. Is there anything in the budget to help support groups like Ken's?
17:45Well, he's been a big partner of ours. I know him well, and he's been very supportive of our
17:49efforts on beautification. He's been out there with us in some of these volunteer efforts. So
17:53look, our Clean California included $1.1 billion, $1.1 billion, a few hundred million dollars for
17:59matching grants for locals. All of those dollars are fungible in the context of being flexible for
18:06applications and for programs like his. So there are a lot of resources in this space.
18:11And I will say that beautification effort Clean California has turned out to be a very popular
18:16program. It's been oversubscribed, but very supported by the legislature. We're able to
18:21hold the line in its budget this year as well. So we're able to move forward with additional
18:25funds over the course of the next fiscal year. Thank you, Governor. Thank you.
18:29Hey, Governor, Jeremy White with Politico. Thanks for making some time for us.
18:32Both you and legislative leaders identified retail crime as a priority this year. Since then,
18:37there's been some missteps. I think in Sacramento, a lot of people would say
18:41you were adamant you weren't going to go to the ballot. Then you floated a ballot initiative.
18:45You pulled it back at the 11th hour. Now it looks like a lot of these legislative efforts
18:48could be eclipsed by that ballot initiative that you and legislative leaders failed to neutralize.
18:53What's your message for the people of California looking at this and seeing that
18:57you and legislative leaders were not able to make it happen on this?
19:00Well, I completely reject the premise of your question. We have 13 pieces of legislation that
19:05are substantive and meaningful that actually address the issues at hand.
19:09Those pieces of legislation are moving through the process and the land on my desk in a matter of
19:13weeks. And they address fundamentally the issues at hand, the substance, the meaningful substance
19:19of providing unprecedented grants, hundreds of millions of dollars to address these issues and
19:23the work that's been California Highway Patrol. With respect, I give them more respect for the
19:28success of their programs, the success of the legislature in appropriating these funds,
19:34the success of the legislature and moving forward with at least 12 or 13 active bills
19:39that substantively address these issues. I think the issue you're referring to is a drug policy
19:45reform that the DA's association is promoting that has a price tag in the billions and billions of
19:52dollars. And I'll ask you on behalf of those that read your columns to ask them,
20:01um, where's that money coming from? How are you going to fund those programs?
20:07Where are those resources coming from? Billions and billions of dollars over the next few years.
20:11By the way, that's not my words at LAO's office, hundreds of millions of dollars a year,
20:14those incarceration costs, et cetera. Why is it that you lay claim that this is a retail theft
20:19framework, but you didn't even touch the threshold, the $950 threshold, which I think all of you
20:25reported is the number one issue that they were complaining about, but it wasn't even included
20:28in their initiative because it's not about retail theft. It's about drug policy reform
20:32fundamentally. So that was our effort to try to call that out. And we ran out of time with
20:37the legislature. Uh, that happens all the time you follow Sacramento. Uh, so I'm really proud
20:42of the work the legislature's done. I'm proud of the package of reforms that will be on my desk
20:46very shortly. I'm proud of the, uh, operations that are underway locally with the funds that
20:51we provided. Uh, and we're getting serious about organized retail thefts, things that are way out
20:55of the purview of prop, uh, 47. And I'm very concerned. Yes, you're right about this drug
21:01policy reform that takes possession and ultimately makes it a felony and, uh, increases the size,
21:07uh, of our prison population by tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands over the course of
21:13the next decade at a profound cost to the taxpayers. Uh, and I don't think an improvement
21:18of public safety. Thanks governor. A quick follow-up. Um, you have of course expressed
21:22frustration with the district attorney, Pamela Price, not making use of state resources. She's
21:26facing a recall vote November fueled by concerns about her not doing enough on crime. You have a
21:30position on that. You think she needs to be recalled? It's all about politics. It's not
21:33about politics today. It's about partnership. Uh, we're here to try to solve problems. Um,
21:39I expressed my point of view about disappointment and then we also expressed a strategy to address
21:43that disappointment with action. We're here to take action, uh, and not point fingers. Um,
21:48I think, uh, Oakland deserves the support and we're going to provide it. Thanks governor. Thanks.
21:55Thank you, governor. Following up on a national topic that was brought up yesterday.
21:58Uh, George Clooney says that, uh, the Joe Biden America saw during on the debate stage is the
22:02same one that he saw at the Peacock theater. You were there at the fundraiser and you were
22:06there at the debate. Are you not seeing what he sees? No, I, well, we've been, I think all of us
22:11that were at that fundraiser wondering what, uh, what they were thinking of scheduling the president,
22:17uh, who, uh, just got overseas to a fundraiser late at night. Uh, and, uh, I came home very
22:22exhausted that night. Uh, and all I had to do is fly down from Sacramento to LA. Um,
22:28and, uh, I think the first comments I had to the president were like, who, who did your schedule?
22:33Uh, I can't, couldn't even handle three hours and a red eye, uh, let alone coming from overseas. So
22:39to me, that's, those are two different things. The person that showed up at that fundraiser
22:44was a human being like any of us exhausted. Um, but as it relates to the debate, that's a,
22:49that's a whole different debate and conversation. Thank you. Thank you.
22:54Hi governor. Good to see you. This is Annabelle Sosa with the LA times. Uh, just a question
22:59following up from Jeremy regarding the, uh, ballot initiative that, uh, was pulled. Um,
23:06so, you know, you're talking about the importance of these relationships with district attorneys,
23:11DA Pamela price, where, where does your relationship stand now with these more moderate
23:16conservative, uh, district attorneys who are leading the, the, the ballot measure that is now
23:22making its way to November? Like where does the relationship stand? I'm thinking of
23:27Jeff Rice, like of Yolo County. I mean, have, have those relationships been splintered? I know
23:31discussions come on. I've been doing it happens all the time. It happens in my house. It happens
23:39with my kids. It's life. Uh, don't over, overthink this. We have a fundamental disagreement
23:44around this initiative. We have deep agreement and alignment about keeping you safe. We just
23:48have a different approach in terms of how we achieve the same goals. So that's a no, I I'm
23:53disappointed, um, that, uh, um, they, uh, they're moving forward with this. I think it, uh, I think
23:59we'll, we'll pay, all of us will pay a huge price if it passes. I mean, quite literally, um, not
24:04fiscal price, but I think a huge opportunity, uh, cost, uh, in terms of moving forward in a more
24:10enlightened direction. So yeah, I'm disappointed in that. Uh, but we work together on, on many
24:15issues. So that's, that's the nature of the work I do every single day in my professional life.
24:20And dare I say at peril, my private life as well. Would you say just to follow up that the DA's
24:26association, the leaders who are involved in those negotiations, have they made themselves
24:30as pariahs in the legislature? Well, that's, you got to ask members of the legislature.
24:33What about for you though? I disagree with them on this issue, vehemently disagree with them on
24:38this issue. And I hope that folks take a look at this initiative, not what they say it is,
24:43but what it actually is. Consider the costs, consider the impact, consider how this brings
24:48us back decades and decades and simple possession, um, on drug policy. And again, I, I, I plead with
24:55you, there needs to be accountability. I'm trying to balance budgets, same time, maintain investments.
25:02Where do the dollars come from? How do we finance this? I've been in this for a long,
25:08long time. This illusion that somehow you can set up thousands and thousands of drug treatment
25:14centers where, with what personnel, how are they going to deliver on what they're promoting?
25:21And the challenge for them is they can't answer that in good conscious because they don't have
25:25a strategy plan. They don't have a funding source. So again, on this issue to your question,
25:30I'm responding very clearly and concisely. Uh, I vehemently disagree with their perspective
25:37on this drug policy reform proposition 36. Just quickly there. Thank you. There wasn't a price
25:42tag on your ballot initiative. There wasn't time for that. What would the, how would that have been
25:46paid for the competing initiative that you, a simple fentanyl enhancement, uh, pretty modest
25:52to zero costs. I'm not even, it's a, one has nothing to do with the other. Okay. Thank you.
26:01Hi, Felicia Mello with CalMatters. I'm in speaking with community members here in Oakland,
26:05specifically about the CHP deployment. Um, one of the things I hear probably most often is,
26:11you know, the CHP is great at recovering stolen cars. And what we're really concerned about is
26:15the crime at small businesses and homicides. And, um, that, you know, there is a mismatch between
26:21the resources being proposed and the actual need. And probably the thing also I hear most often,
26:25right, is this idea that we need more community violence prevention programs, right? We need
26:29alternatives for particularly young people to crime. So can you address that critique that
26:34there's a disconnect between the problem here and the proposed solution? Uh, yes,
26:39thank you for that opportunity. I, I point them to the, uh, violence intervention program. Uh,
26:45when I came in, it was a few million dollars. I think we bolstered it to $200 million to provide
26:50grants for community building, to provide opportunities for youth and to provide the
26:54underlying issues, or at least address the underlying issues to address those concerns
26:58the community has identified. We put unprecedented investments in violence intervention, the work
27:02we've done through Cal Volunteers to get youth jobs, the Climate Corps, the work we've done on
27:07College Corps. We've asked for 450 hours, uh, and we provide $10,000 grants, disproportionate number,
27:14uh, first in their family, uh, to have those opportunities to go to college. Uh, people from
27:18cities like Oakland and all around the region, Alameda County and elsewhere, unprecedented
27:23support for our youth, uh, summer programs as well, coming from the state, uh, building on
27:27the work that the local government's doing. It was highlighted, uh, by a representative for Epic
27:32Times. And I appreciated that, uh, framework that we're hiring formerly homeless individuals,
27:37people that were previously incarcerated in, in the Clean California Initiative, a new initiative.
27:42So we're across the spectrum providing all of those supports. And I noted, uh, that 10-point
27:48specific strategy and plan through Caltran as an additional enhancement, uh, to these broader
27:53efforts. But we're not coming here to try to solve every, that's not the job of the CHP.
27:57We're trying to solve specific issues around sideshows, uh, deal with the issues of DUIs,
28:02reduce some of the stress and the burden on the Alameda DA's office so they can focus on some of
28:08these other critical issues as you suggest and the residents demand. So absolutely, we're not
28:13trying to replicate, we're not taking over, uh, the jurisdiction here. We're supplementing and
28:18supporting, uh, rather supplementing some areas, but primarily supporting, uh, the areas, uh, that,
28:24uh, the city and the county and the region are already, uh, advancing. Yeah, I just want to
28:29clarify that. So am I hearing you correctly that the CHP deployment is not aimed at directly
28:34addressing issues like homicide and crime and small businesses, but more vehicle related crimes
28:40to free up? Well, let me, let me, let me build on that. We've got many other operations, the
28:47California Highway Patrol, including retail theft operations. Uh, the commissioner noted 55,
28:5350, I think it's 55 or 56, uh, guns that have been recovered that are directly related to crimes.
29:00So that extends beyond just the issue as you, uh, attach. Uh, we also, as it relates to the
29:07arrests of many felony arrests, outstanding warrants that are directly impacting all of those
29:12other crimes. So no, this, this is an operation that is, uh, much broader, uh, than, uh, just
29:17what's occurring, uh, in the context of, uh, of, of what's going on around the roads and the
29:22freeways. By the way, in addition to all of this, we also, as you know, have been installing these
29:27flock cameras. We highlighted that led to a murder suspect or rather, uh, a attempted murder suspect,
29:35I believe attempted murder suspect on the freeway because the flock camera investments that we're
29:40making, I believe we have 190, uh, that will be installed within the matter of the next many
29:46weeks. Uh, I think we're putting 25 or so in each week, 69 have been installed. The rest of that
29:51operation will be complete. All that will also advance some of those broader efforts of
29:55investigation. I don't know if the chief or commissioner, you want to amplify that. I'll jump
29:59in. I'll just jump in shortly and just talk about, um, uh, traffic stops or vehicle stops done by
30:05CHP. Uh, I, I would direct you toward, uh, DDACS data-driven approach to crime and traffic safety.
30:11Uh, it's data out there that supports that when we, when one of our officers or any officer that
30:16is working within our County or within our city does a traffic stop, that traffic stop has an
30:22effect on the crime within that area for several hours after that traffic stop, because people see
30:27the stop and see their presence. Part of what they're doing in these traffic stops is to create
30:32a high visibility presence within our community. So it, to address that perception of crime and
30:38crime itself, but I would direct you toward the DDACS approach. Yeah, I agree completely. And I
30:44think a lot of times misperception, the CHP is we're out there writing speeding tickets, uh,
30:49parking tickets. It's, it's so much more than that. It's evolved so much over the last 90 years.
30:53And we have some of the most competent, uh, investigators, you know, the, a lot of, uh,
30:58investigations will spawn out of a traffic stop, but we'll roll up into auto theft rings, uh,
31:03complex organized crime ring. So, um, the, the 56 guns is evidence of that. You know,
31:09these are, these are criminals that are conducting crimes. And I agree with the chief too. There's,
31:15there's a huge impact from just the black and white patrol car out there in presence and it
31:20deters and it slows down people and it apprehends people. So yeah, thank you. Thank you. Can you
31:25address briefly, um, the question of privacy around CHP control of those cameras? I know
31:29there've been concerns raised also within Oakland that having CHP control them versus local control
31:34then actually sets a different standard that doesn't acknowledge all the conversations that
31:38Oakland local government has had about how to use those in a way that respects privacy.
31:45They all kind of looked at me on that one. Yeah. Um, so our, we operate those cameras
31:53in compliance with the law and, um, Oakland is working through the process now through
31:57the privacy commission in the city to get their cameras up and on board. The 190 cameras that
32:02the governor mentioned, um, are on state right away and those will be, um, CHP exclusive cameras
32:08through flock and they flock works through a network. But, um, you know, the, the information
32:14we're gaining from those cameras, they're used to develop leads, develop criminal leads. They do not,
32:19uh, lead to the direct arrest of anybody. Those are just, it's another tool for law
32:24enforcement to use. And so all of our privacy of the cameras are in compliance with the law.
32:29And I'll jump in just real quick. Yes. Uh, there, there's an agenda item, I believe next week in
32:33regards to the privacy commission going, uh, that, that, uh, memorandum going to the privacy
32:38commission. So we're working in conjunction with our current, uh, officials to make sure that we
32:43are following the rules, even with the implementation of the flock program.
32:47And, uh, we want to get those cameras up and, uh, and get moving. So we're doing our part
32:52in the state right away. It's in the freeways, but I'd love to see the city move forward with
32:56the resources we provided them, uh, to get their cameras up and operationalized as well.
33:02Hey, governor Newsom. Thanks for taking our questions. Ellie chemistry with Bloomberg.
33:07You signed a $20 minimum wage law for fast food workers that include an exemption for
33:12chains that bake and sell bread in March, your office said reporting on this exemption related
33:16to a Panera bread and a billionaire was absurd, but you never explained why the exemption was put
33:21into the law. It's been months since that controversy. Uh, do you have an explanation
33:26for this bakery exemption? It went through a process over the course of two years, the
33:31legislature had dozens of hearings. There was a process that unfolded in terms of partnerships and
33:36coalitions that were being built and, uh, and we advanced it. But my understanding is they were
33:41never exempted at the end of the day. So I don't know what the issue ultimately is. I will note,
33:45just if I may, um, there was some, um, misleading reporting as it relates to, uh, the $20 minimum
33:54wage about its impact on jobs and employment. Uh, you may have seen the actual numbers that
34:00just came out, an increase of over 10,000 new jobs in the fast food industry. Since we initiated
34:08that $20 minimum wage, uh, running completely contra, uh, to some of the reporting that was
34:14previously done. I think it's just important to highlight that the intention of this, uh,
34:17was to provide low wage workers, the dignity, um, and the opportunity, uh, to, to raise a family
34:25and not end up on the public dole as many, uh, low wage workers do. And, uh, and also an increase
34:31in improved productivity. And I think it's, uh, the early signs are showing success in that respect.
34:36To follow up to that point. So why would employees of large bakery chains be exempted
34:41from getting their, and Chris Holden, the law, the author did not know why this was put into the
34:47bill and neither did the SEIU. No one's actually providing an explanation to a legislative.
34:52We'll have to, uh, I don't know the author of the bills explanation. Forgive me. I'm unaware of his,
34:58uh, his, that the governor's office was responsible for the negotiation.
35:02Well, uh, I think we've, I think we've, we've discussed this very openly and publicly for,
35:06I think six months. So I don't have much to add about Mr. Holden's
35:10recent comments as it relates to rates, this and the like. Okay. Um, thank you.
35:17Hi governor Newsom, David Hernandez with the San Francisco Chronicle. Uh, just to clarify the
35:22basics of the operation you announced today. Um, how many more officers will this bring to Oakland
35:28and how many days a week will they be working here and for how many hours per shift?
35:32So it's 162 shifts, seven days a week, number of officers. Uh, I'll leave that to our expert here.
35:40Yeah, I'd like to keep the exact number. I can tell you it's just confidential for the safety
35:44of the officers. I can tell you the baseline right now. Um, we were, we were operating about
35:49two to three days a week. Um, safe streets, which I mentioned was seven uniformed members
35:54going out two to three days a week. Um, the, uh, the crime suppression team was also in the city
36:00of Oakland two to three days a week. As the governor mentioned, each of those teams will
36:04be expanded to seven days a week. And so we'll be increasing the personnel enough to, to staff
36:10those. In addition to that, we will be doing, um, some special operations that fall within CHP's
36:16wheelhouse, uh, side street or side, uh, the street takeovers, the street racing, uh, the,
36:23the, uh, DUI checkpoints. We'll be doing those in addition to the, that baseline operation.
36:29So you can't give a general number like you have in the past, like in February, it was 120.
36:35Yeah, I can tell you the baseline officer number will be around, uh, around 20 officers baseline
36:41seven days a week. And then the number of the surges, I won't give you the exact number on that.
36:47Thanks. Uh, again, important point to emphasize it's a fourfold increase from the current
36:51operations and it's a seven day a week operation. So back to the national guard prosecutors, um,
36:58could you explain whether you were under the impression that was actually going to happen
37:02when you announced it and what kind of cases will they be focusing on? Well, I would have
37:07announced that if I wasn't under the impression it was going to happen, uh, particularly on the
37:11basis of it, uh, actually materializing in the city and County of San Francisco.
37:16Uh, and I really appreciate the district attorney support. Um, and, uh, and, and I think it's,
37:22it's proven, uh, successful again. The entire unit was just a supervisor
37:28under the narcotics unit and the Alameda. Um, we were looking to double it just with one person.
37:34Uh, we were going to offer more additional personnel as needed, uh, as they re redeployed
37:39on the basis of existing operations. Now there's not a person, uh, there. Uh, so, uh, I, I felt
37:46it was imperative to keep pushing. We did for a course of number of months. We laid this out in,
37:51in a letter, try to, uh, be more precise. You can, I refer you to that. And, uh, we just felt
37:57at this stage, uh, with everything going on, everything's swirling, uh, the need to do more.
38:02Uh, we needed just to pull the plug at this stage and, uh, and do something that we know will work
38:07with the AG's office. Um, and then, uh, on a final point, uh, this Chronicle recently reported
38:14that Oakland, um, for years has misreported crime data, uh, in large part because of a lag
38:21and, uh, your office has relied on some of that data, including a 33% reduction in crime.
38:27Um, what, what can be done to ensure that Californians get accurate crime data?
38:32I'm going to refer to you, uh, that's local data. You can refer to, uh, our chief to discuss
38:38that a little bit more. We rely on local OPD data. Yes. And, and we are taking a deep dive
38:44into our data and our ability to report, uh, accurate and timely data. And one of the things
38:49that I can tell you as we look at this, and we've put information out, my PIO has put information
38:54out, uh, this weekend, I believe some, he put some information out last week. Uh, when you're
38:58talking about person's crimes, your, your homicide, your murders, your sexual assaults,
39:03your violent crimes, those numbers are very accurate. Uh, the delay comes from our online
39:08reporting in regards to property crimes. And we know there's a lag. Uh, we also are in the
39:14implementation phase of a brand new, uh, computer aided dispatch. And we are, uh, moving forward
39:20with a brand new, uh, records management system, uh, that we're close to presenting to council for,
39:25uh, final approval to, to get into contract with a new records management, uh, company. So, uh,
39:32you are, you are correct. There is a lag, but that lag has to do with our property crimes,
39:36not our person's crimes. Okay. And, uh, you know, no data is going to convince me that we don't need
39:43to do more here in Oakland and Alameda. I assure you that that's why we're here. We need to do more.
39:48Thank you. Yes. Uh, thanks for taking the time today. Uh, Jacob Rogers, East Bay Times,
39:54Mercury News. I just wanted to ask, I mean, obviously you've shown a great deal of investment
39:58in the Oakland, uh, area and the city here. Uh, you mentioned that you're not a mayor anymore,
40:03and I want to get your thoughts on, you know, essentially, uh, what's been going on here in
40:06Oakland with the, uh, with Mayor Tao, um, and, uh, the FBI raids, the grand jury investigation
40:11going on. I want to ask, first of all, I mean, do you have any thoughts on her tenureship, her
40:15leader, her tenure, her leadership here, as well as, you know, essentially, um, do you have any
40:20concerns about her ability to do the job, uh, given the distraction that has happened with,
40:25uh, with these raids? I'll leave that to you and others that, that are more in tune with the
40:30day-to-day, uh, governance of Oakland, uh, as it relates to, uh, those investigations inappropriate
40:36for me, uh, to comment on them. I will say, though, I, I will comment on my personal engagement
40:42as it relates to this partnership that goes back, as you know, almost a year, goes back,
40:48uh, to February when it was highlighted, uh, and extends today. Uh, that's been a good working
40:53relationship. Um, just to be sure, I mean, it sounds like, uh, you've been pictured with the
40:58Duong family who are the subject of this investigation. It also appears that your
41:01Attorney General, Rob Bonta, appears to have some very close ties to this family.
41:05Uh, do you know the family yourself and, uh, do you have any concerns about Bonta's involvement
41:09with that family? I don't know anything about the Attorney General's involvement with anyone,
41:13uh, as it relates to those individuals. I, I don't, I imagine, um,
41:19I know, I mean, no, no, no association with them. And I imagine had some passing,
41:25uh, meetings or something somewhere. So, but beyond that, absolutely nothing.
41:29And lastly, just to be sure, I mean, do you have any sort of lingering, uh, doubts about
41:34the ability for Oakland to, to deal with a lot of these issues that you obviously are very,
41:37uh, passionate about here, just given, um, the turmoil that's happened here recently?
41:41Well, we're here for a reason. Try to bolster this community, let them know we have their back.
41:47We said we'd come back. We're here in that spirit, um, in that light. Um, we can't be
41:53here forever. Uh, we're here for the next four months and, uh, we'll see what happens
41:57in the next four months. But, uh, we, we said we, we were firm in our commitment. We weren't
42:01going to walk away. Uh, and the fact that we're here is, you perhaps could read between the lines,
42:06uh, for a reason. Uh, we're back. Hi, Governor. I'm Annalise Finney for KQED News. I just have
42:13a quick question. Last month, your office appointed ADA Michael Nieto from the Alameda
42:17District Attorney's Office to the Superior Court in Contra Costa. ADA Nieto is currently under
42:23review for potentially having been part of an office-wide practice of denying Black and Jewish
42:28jurors the opportunity to serve on death penalty cases. Was your office aware of this review when
42:32you made that appointment? Yeah, we weren't. Um, we have a judicial process. It's very exhaustive.
42:37It goes through the Jenny and JSAC commissions. None of this was brought up in any of those,
42:41uh, um, uh, analyses or investigations. JSAC actually had him as extremely well-qualified.
42:48Uh, Jenny is well-qualified, um, active in La Raza law and mentorship programs. And he,
42:55ironically, was the one supervisor in the Alameda County DA's office on the Narcotic cases. Now
43:00he's gone. Uh, that said, uh, that, uh, investigation, uh, also is being advanced in, in
43:08the GO, as we refer to it, uh, with my judicial team. Uh, they're interviewing, uh, the individual
43:15and, uh, they'll be assessing the merits of those allegations as well and providing me,
43:19um, an update on that very, very shortly. Thank you very much. Thank you.
43:23Governor, good morning. Brian Curry with ABC7 News. We talked about the attorney general's
43:27involvement here, but for the cases that do go before the Alameda County DA, how would you like
43:32her to act and respond? Look, we're just, we're not, we're not removing all the cases. I don't
43:37want to overstate this. We're just, we're just going to provide support for complex cases that
43:43are labor intensive, uh, so she can focus on the bulk of the cases that are in front of her. Uh,
43:49we're just trying to provide more resources and be more resourceful. Uh, she chose not to embrace
43:55that path. And, uh, and we have a mechanism with the, with the AG's office, department of justice
44:00to, uh, to do just that. Uh, look, she was independently elected. I'm not here to offer
44:07advice or counsel. Um, I can only observe what I've observed. Uh, we extended a hand, a partnership.
44:13Unfortunately, uh, it wasn't a reciprocated and good people could disagree. She may have had
44:19strong opinions and peers. She did. Uh, we never got a detailed understanding of what the issue
44:24was. Uh, initially she showed interest in that partnership and that just never materialized,
44:28but we don't have time. We just don't have time. People don't want to wait another hour,
44:33another day. They don't want to go through another weekend. The Juneteenth activities here,
44:37what's happened with these retail thefts, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh,
44:43um, and I've been down there, I've been meeting with a lot of these gas station folks down there
44:47and Hagen Berg home and elsewhere. Um, and you know, I appreciate the role in the job of Governor
44:52representing state larger than 21 State populations combined. 478 cities was a former
44:57mayor. I understand my role as former mayor also understand my role as Governor. I'm doing my best
45:02here, uh, to provide support and resources, but the role and our jurisdiction is also,
45:08clear. And that's why this is a four-month operation. It's not a permanent operation.
45:13We're not here to take all the prosecution away from the DA, not even close, just to
45:19support and reduce some of that stress on the complex cases. And AG's office is well
45:24equipped to do that. And we are providing that support if the AG needs it for our JAGs.
45:31We have one in particular, 25 years of remarkable experience in Southern California, is ready
45:35to come on up, take these cases next level, rock star. And we're just eager to get moving.
45:43Thank you. With that, well, that's a good way to end. Eager to get moving. And I'll
45:51end this as I always end this. We'll be back. And we have your back, Oakland and Alameda.
45:59You matter. We care. And we have a lot more work to do together. Thank you all very much.
46:05Thank you.
Comments