Most Oakland voters want to see more police, more surveillance, and fewer homeless encampments, according to a recent survey from the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Earlier this month, the research firm FM3 surveyed 735 likely Oakland voters online and by phone about city issues and policies.

The survey also included questions about city leadership, finding that 61% of respondents support Lee. The City Council apparently does not enjoy the same goodwill, receiving only a 27% favorability rating in the poll.

A majority of surveyed voters would like to see Oakland’s governance structure change to give the mayor more power. 

Respondents say they want more Oakland police officers
Two-thirds of Oakland voters surveyed say they want more OPD officers. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside

The results, released Thursday morning, show that 67% of respondents support increasing the number of officers at the Oakland Police Department, versus 9% who want the police force to decrease. 

The survey also shows strong support for increasing police surveillance in neighborhoods and business districts. Sixty-seven percent of respondents said they want the city to monitor privately-owned camera systems, such as business security cameras, with consent from the owners. Similarly, 66% support the use of city-owned automated surveillance cameras, and 59% support the use of aerial drones to monitor public safety incidents.

By a 14-point margin, respondents were more likely to say crime and public safety have been improving (40%) rather than worsening (26%) over the past few months. As of OPD’s most recent weekly crime report, violent crime in Oakland is down 25% year-to-date compared with the same time last year. Reports of robberies and burglaries are down 42% and 27%, respectively, though property crime data may take a while to be finalized, as OPD must review each report.

Asked about six categories of city services, respondents overwhelmingly said public safety and emergency response times are the most important to maintain in a tough budget cycle (61%), followed by homelessness resources (11%), road maintenance and repair (8%), staffing for city services (7%), illegal dumping clean-up (4%), and parks and recreation (3%).

Respondents want Oakland to limit homeless camps
City crews work to close the Wood Street homeless camp in May 2023. Credit: Natalie Orenstein/The Oaklandside

The chamber also asked voters about how the city handles homeless camps. The Oakland City Council is currently considering sweeping changes to its encampment policy, including enabling the city to clear camps without offering residents other shelter, and enabling police to arrest people for camping.

The survey asked voters about changing this policy, but focused on only a couple of specific changes. One change would allow the city to close sidewalk encampments without advance notice, and make it easier to clear vehicle encampments. Sixty-one percent of respondents said they’re in favor of these changes.

There was also broad support for generally restricting homeless camps in public spaces (85%) and for limiting long-term RV and vehicle camps (74%). 

For the past two-plus decades, the chamber has hired a data research firm each year to poll likely Oakland voters’ views on several key issues, including public safety, the economy, quality of life, and the efficacy of local elected officials.

“*” indicates required fields