Oakland faces rash of pirates as thefts hit boats and docks as crime spikes in Bay Area
- Residents of Oakland and Alameda in California's Bay Area say they are experiencing a wave of pirates stealing from boats in the harbor
- The thieves have been known to use dinghies that sneak up on boats and yachts before boarding and pillaging through the watercrafts for cash and supplies
- Rise in crime on the water comes as the Bay Area continues to see a shocking and worrisome rise in homelessness, drug use and crime
Residents of California's Bay Area are experiencing a new wave of crime that involves 'pirates' sneaking up on dinghies and stealing items from boats in the harbor.
Photos and videos posted online show dinghies speeding through the water at night and the alleged culprits on a watercraft following an apparent theft.
According to posts, as police are inundated with crime, some have been left to fend for themselves when it comes to sea, said Marianne Armand, a local boat owner.
Police have assigned one full-time officer to maritime patrol, and the cop admits that thieves get away because of response times.
'We have several calls into the police but they can't do anything unless we catch them,' Armand wrote in a Facebook post sharing video of the robbers.
Crime appears to be spilling over into the water from land as Oakland has seen a 22 percent increase in robberies and 18 percent increase in violent crime this year.
Residents of California's Bay Area are experiencing a new wave of crime that involves 'pirates' sneaking up on dinghies and stealing items from boats in the harbor
In her Facebook post, Armand warned fellow boat owners at the Encinal Yacht Club to be on 'high alert' over the thieves who are 'stalking and stealing.'
The woman shared two photos of the purported culprits, which arrived to outrage from her friends and fellow yacht club members.
She also shared she followed the men around the marina one night only to see them 'circling' the area the next night.
In the comment section of the woman's post, another person shared footage of a person on a boat in the middle of the night.
'Get the f**k out, get out,' a person can be heard yelling at the dinghy's captain.
Boat and yacht owners who spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle regarding the shocking rise in water theft incidents described it as 'the Wild West.'
'It's almost as if you were on a ship and there are pirates out there, and there's no government, no one to protect you,' said Steve Meckfessel, from a local harbor.
'We've all gotten to the point where we know there is going to be no response' from police, said boat owner Jonathan DeLong.
DeLong told the outlet he shooed away 'pirates' who were attempting to steal from his own boat while he was sleeping on the vessel.
Some said they have watched helplessly as the thieves entered and pillaged their neighbors' boats for goods and items.
In the comment section of Armand's post, another person shared footage of a person on a boat in the middle of the night
Another grab of a 'pirate' on the water in the middle of the night
'We have several calls into the police but they can't do anything unless we catch them,' Marianne Armand (pictured) wrote in a Facebook post sharing video of the robbers
The area has a police maritime unit, which has one full-time patrol officer.
The officer, Kaleo Albino, said he has observed a spike in thefts throughout the area and the limited staffing and the bay's surface area make it easy to get away.
'They’re just taking advantage of our response times,' Albino said.
Some have surmised that those behind the thefts are vagrants who live in roughly half a dozen encampments along the estuary.
Others have pointed to homeless individuals who 'anchor-out' boats on the water illegally in the harbor.
In mid-August, the thieves hit a motor shop and took off with life rafts, tool bags and other goods.
In that incident, police reportedly told store owner Craig Jacobsen that officers were busy with violent crime, of which the city is experiencing its fair share.
Last month, Oakland cops urged residents to secure their homes - including by trimming hedges and shrubs so thieves have nowhere to hide.
Police warned about an 'uptick in home invasion robberies' including cases of robbers armed with guns kicking down doors before threatening homeowners and stealing their belongings.
Last month, Oakland cops urged residents to secure their homes amid a rise in brazen burglaries while residents are inside their homes
The rise in violent crime also comes and property theft comes as the city also experiences a sharp boom in homelessness.
DailyMail.com reported earlier this month that Oakland and San Francisco have become hotbeds for homelessness.
Seneca Scott, founder of Neighbors Together Oakland, told FOX about the California cities: 'Oakland and San Francisco have become the promised land of milk and fentanyl, and people are coming here.
'People who are homeless in Oakland now typically are not from here,' Scott said.
'They’re drug tourists. They’re coming here for the safe and easy access to their drug of choice and the ability to also steal to support those habits because there’s no rule of law.
'Our homeless crisis has helped deteriorate our property value. If you combine that with the eviction moratorium and other government policies, we have a situation now where the property values of people are plummeting.'
In Oakland, the homeless population has grown to over 5,000 - a 50 percent increase - since 2015, according to city data.
Piracy, an ancient trade. Currently West Africa is one of the most dangerous pirate-infested areas in the world. This was the last known location of a 135-metre tanker when it was boarded by pirates hundreds of miles off the coast of west Africa.
Map: Pirate attacks often occur off Nigeria's coast as ships passing through West Africa's Gulf of Guinea are under threat from pirates wanting to snatch cargoes and crews
Pirates off the coast of Congo
Pirates in a small launch in the Singapore Strait
Children play 'pirates' on a fishing boat in Venezuela. 'You hear piracy and you think of guys robbing container ships in Africa. But here it's just poor fishermen robbing other poor fishermen.'
A Venezuelan police officer stands amid stolen engines seized from pirates
Piracy plagued the Aegean Islands from ancient times, so people built anti-piracy houses to make it harder for pirates to spot them.
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