Conversation with ORP member:
“I got broken into twice. Being ‘Bipped’ is when they break the window,” said the interviewee. “The first time [I got broken into] was at the Coliseum BART station. The second time also happened at the Coliseum. The best place to get ‘bipped’ in Oakland, however, is downtown; it’s statistically the number one spot.”
“The worst type of ‘bip’ is when you’re actually sitting in the car, enjoying your day, and they ‘boop bap bip bow bip’ your window anyway. Then what do you do? On the freeway in traffic, you can get ‘bipped’ too. Every day, I think I might get ‘bipped’ just parked outside of my own house. Can’t have anything in Oakland.”
“Good thing I don’t have a Kia because they’d just take the whole Kia. During the pandemic is when the real pandemic began… the Kia Boyz. It started in a different state, like Ohio or something, definitely Ohio (not confirmed). People think the kids are all associated with each other, but they aren’t really. Most of the activity in Oakland I’ve seen has been in East Oakland. The Kia Boyz usually looks like a car full of kids, 1-5 kids, sometimes two stolen cars back to back. Kias and Hyundais are easy culprits. They’re usually wearing face masks and driving with no concern for their lives or anyone else’s.”
“The Kia Boyz could be anybody of any race from what we’ve seen. It speaks to a larger issue in Oakland, which is our failing/underfunded education system. Most of these kids don’t even know the experience of having their own car, or gaining a credit score. You wonder what skills they have outside of committing GTA and other petty theft. Until a solution is provided, don’t leave valuables in your car, be careful driving through an intersection even when you have a green light, and remind yourself that we all deserve a better system for everyone.”