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Murder on the Rise in Oakland, Calif.

NPR's Richard Gonzales reports that city leaders and residents of Oakland, Calif., are trying to cope with more than 100 murders this past year, the highest number since the early '90s. Mayor Jerry Brown blames ex-cons involved in drug-turf battles, and has announced a crackdown on repeat offenders. Police have been issued a list of the city's 100 most dangerous men. In the city's poorest neighborhoods, volunteers are making their own efforts to stop the killings.

Copyright 2003 NPR

Richard Gonzales is NPR's National Desk Correspondent based in San Francisco. Along with covering the daily news of region, Gonzales' reporting has included medical marijuana, gay marriage, drive-by shootings, Jerry Brown, Willie Brown, the U.S. Ninth Circuit, the California State Supreme Court and any other legal, political, or social development occurring in Northern California relevant to the rest of the country.
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