Oakland homicide rate surges by over 300 percent in 2021

Oakland, California is experiencing its deadliest year in decades as the city faces an unprecedented rise in violent crimes, local Kron4 reports.

The surge includes a 150 percent increase in carjackings and a 115 percent increase in firearm-related assaults.

Most disturbingly, however, Oakland is experiencing an over 300 percent increase in murders thus far in 2021. 30 people had been murdered in Oakland by mid-March 2021, a staggering increase from the seven who were murdered by the same point in 2020.

In one recent incident caught on video, an Oakland man can be seen using a machete to defend his parents against four robbers acting in broad daylight.

Police in Oakland say they are exploring the use of new technology to combat the rise in violent crime.

Crime rates have surged in major cities across the United States since mid-2020. Although Oakland has seen a particularly steep increase, it is not unusual for major cities to be experiencing a 50 to 100 percent rise in homicides.

The cause of the surge has been debated by experts. Many suggest that the rise can be attributed in large part to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, without unemployed people being forced to commit crime to feed themselves or their families.

Others have suggested that the scaling back of police forces in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and riots may be contributing to the rising crime rates.

With a relatively large Asian population, the rise in crime in Oakland in particular may be related to a surge in hate crimes against Asians across the country.