Arrests on the Oakland Estuary bring new focus to crime problems on waterway

A summer crime wave that raised the fear of piracy on the Oakland Estuary and led to a mass clean up of abandoned boats on the popular recreational waterway is again in focus after the arrests of three people living in boats off Union Point Park.

Oakland Police said the arrests were result of a joint investigation after a nearby Oakland maritime business was burglarized in mid-March. In that incident, a group of men broke through a fence at Hadal Inc. and stole gas tanks, among other items. With the help of Hadal’s surveillance footage, officers were able to obtain search warrants and make three arrests last Thursday.

The arrests appear to be evidence of progress for a waterway that has been under intense scrutiny since last summer when a series of thefts prompted widespread media coverage and allegations of a “pirate” crime spree. During a three-week stretch in August, dozens of dinghies and small boats were stolen from harbors and yacht clubs in Oakland and Alameda. The arrests on Thursday, however, were unrelated to that crime wave.

Oakland Marine Patrol Officer Kaleo Albino said there has been a small uptick in crime recently and more reports of stolen kayaks and radar GPS screens in recent weeks. Still, he said, the situation is nowhere near the fever pitch it reached last summer and he was hopeful the arrests would deter further incidents.

“I’m not nervous about some big crime wave coming,” Albino said. “I think its the typical case of a few bad actors.”

The scrutiny last summer also led to increased police patrols and a renewed focus on removing people who were illegally living on boats in the estuary. Some in the boating community said they had been unfairly targeted and blamed for the crime.

There is no debate that crime on the estuary has fallen since that acute period 8 months ago. But to some businesses, the arrests are proof that the cycle of crime is beginning anew.

Craig Jacobsen, the owner of the Outboard Motor Shop, said he remains concerned with the state of the waterway and the Oakland Police Department’s response.

In the days leading up to the arrests, Jacobsen said one of their biggest customers had a $6,000 motor stolen from Jack London Square. Although employees at the Outboard Motor Shop could see the motor sitting in one of the boats anchored off Union Point park, Jacobsen said police urged them not to try to retrieve it, as it could impede their investigation.

By the time the arrests were made, Jacobsen said the motor was already gone.

“Communication is horrible with them trying to work with us,” Jacobsen said of the police department. “We went two or three months without problems, but now it seems like it’s back.”

Still, there is no doubt that tangible progress has been made in recent months. In December, police officers removed over a dozen abandoned or derelict boats from the estuary and destroyed them. People who were living on boats in the waterway were warned to leave or have their boats impounded as well.

The Oakland Police Department also increased coordination with the Alameda Police Department and trained new officers for marine patrol.

Former harbormaster Brock De Lappe, who has chronicled the state of the estuary for years, said there is only one permanent solution: removing all anchor-outs from the estuary permanently.

“Clearly they are bad actors,” De Lappe said. “If they can clear them out, they will have taken a major step forward.”