I've lived in Rockridge for about 10 years and can attest to everything you've seen: half a police force, restaurant "take over" robberies, broad daylight muggings at Rockridge BART station, many "solicitors" casing houses.

I've been bullish on Oakland for a long time. It could be a great city. It has an international airport, a major shipping port, easy BART access to SF, cheaper real estate than SF, near UC Berkeley and a number of smaller colleges. But Oakland's crime waves, understaffed police force, history of police abuse, and years of do-nothing city government is taking its toll.

You may be interested in joining the "Rockridge Neighborhood Watch Network" Yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RockridgeNeighborhoodWatchNetw...