Oakland Announces Juvenile Arrests In Alleged Robbery Spree

Officials in Oakland, California announced on Wednesday that police arrested nine children over the weekend allegedly connected to a series of 35 crimes spanning 14 neighborhoods. That string of crime, officials claimed, reflects a surge in juvenile crime across the city, ABC 7 Bay Area reports. Those arrested range between 12 to 17 years old. As part of a press conference headed up by Oakland Mayor Sheng Tao, city officials announced their intention to develop a youth intervention plan in collaboration with violence prevention leaders and Oakland Police.

Kentrell Killens, Oakland’s Interim Chief of Violence Prevention, emphasized the work the Department of Violence Prevention plans to do with the children and teenagers impacted and their families. “Through our existing relationship with probation, our staff will conduct individual coaching with the young people to begin this process of building relationships while they are in custody as well as through their transition back to the community,” Killens said in a statement released by the Mayor’s office.