Oakley Neighborhood Watch Helps Catch Vandals

The residents in the Magnolia Park area experienced nearly 30 cases of vandalism of roll up garage doors over the past month. After a neighborhood watch program was set up, the suspects were caught earlier this week.

“Juveniles would drive up and a passenger would exit the vehicle, run up to the roll up door and kick a dent in it. The suspect would flee via vehicle,” explained Bani Kollo, Oakley Chief of Police.

The vandalism starting in early June and continued.

After many residents experienced damage, the neighborhood organized and implemented a Neighborhood Watch Program with the assistance of Oakley PD.  The residents forwarded the police information to use regarding suspect descriptions and vehicles.

“Our graveyard shift conducted two undercover operations with no results,” explained Kollo.

He went onto to explain that while the activity stopped, Oakley PD continued to watch the “suspect vehicle” which was reported by the residents of the neighborhood. Eventually, contact was made with the owner.

The investigation resulted in two juvenile arrests which their names cannot be released due to their age. There is still work to be done at the investigation level but the Chief states they have a clear understanding of the facts in the case.

There is also information that there are similar cases in Brentwood and Oakley detectives will be working with Brentwood to exchange information in the near future.

“This is the perfect example that demonstrates the importance of Neighborhood Watch and great results we can have by neighborhood organizing,” said Kollo. “Had it not been for the efforts the group made, I am not convinced the responsible subjects would have been caught.”

According to the Chief, Oakley has a number of neighborhood watch programs set up throughout the City and in this case, the result of such a program resulted in a case closure.

If you are interested in setting up a neighborhood watch program, you can contact the Oakley Police Department at (925) 625-8855 or go down to the station next to City Hall for more details and set up a meeting. They have flyers available and attend the first meeting to help organize the group.

I am a firm believer in letting the Oakley PD do their job and not second guess them–they know their limits. This is a perfect example of how a Neighborhood Watch program is supposed to work and kudos go out to everyone who participated. When Oakley PD is given the tools to succeed, they exceed expectations and we do not need this type of riff-raff in the City or the area.

Photo is of Officer Riddle from the World of Discovery opening in January.