Oakland cops warn residents to reinforce their doors with braces or a security bar and install security cameras after spate of home invasions - with thieves even ransacking homes when the owners are THERE

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Oakland cops have urged residents to secure their homes - including by trimming hedges and shrubs so thieves have nowhere to hide - amid a rise in brazen burglaries while residents are inside their homes. 

Police in the California city 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. 

Oakland Police Department (OPD) said some of the worst-hit areas have been Laurel, North Hills, Joaquin Miller, and the Greater San Antonio area. 

Oakland Police Department (OPD) said some of the worst-hit areas have been Laurel, North Hills, Joaquin Miller, and the Greater San Antonio area. Pictured: One of the attacks last year

'In recent cases, armed individuals forcibly entered the residences by kicking in doors, threatening the victims, and taking the victim's personal belongings before fleeing the residence,' the force said in a post on Wednesday. 

'OPD is actively investigating each of these home invasion robberies. If you are a victim or have information regarding these incidents, please call 510-238-3326.'

The department gave several points of advice for residents to reduce their risk of a break-in, including ensuring all doors and windows are properly secured, and even reinforcing doors with a security bar or door brace. 

'Strengthen home security by installing a security system with motion detection, surveillance cameras, and alarms,' OPD added. 'Use outdoor lighting with motion sensors.

Surveillance video caught a home invasion attempt that ended with shots fired in Oakland last year

'Trim hedges and shrubs around entry points to eliminate potential hiding spots. Do not open your door to strangers without verifying their identity.

'Create an emergency plan to include a safe meeting point. Join or initiate a neighborhood watch program in your community.'

The force said it is 'committed to public safety' and urged people to report any robberies.

A horrific home invasion in the city which ended with shots fired was caught on camera last year.

The surveillance footage from February 4, 2022, shows a man using a crowbar to try to break into the home on Minna Avenue in Oakland's Allendale neighborhood.

A second man joins him, pointing a gun at the front door, obtained by KTVU, while several more stand guard.

Homeowner Ken Johnson told the broadcaster he was woken up by the noise. 

'I looked out the balcony and somebody, a guy was pointing a gun at me. So I retreated back into the house,' he said. 

Johnson said his nephew pounded on the door inside his room to let the invaders know there were people inside, which they mistook for gunshots and fled. 

The footage shows the group running away and heading towards their cars. 

As they drove away, one of the men fired four shots from the car - as debris falls in front of the camera lens -  while Johnson's nephew called 911. 

'They started firing gunshots into the house. Now we were on the 911 call at that time, which the 911 operator heard, and so they sent police right away,' Johnson said.

Luckily the family were unscathed, but Johnson found rounds from a 9mm handgun lodged in a closet as well as in an old football helmet. 

Meanwhile, an Oakland mother said she decided to move out of her 'beloved' home city due to rampant crime. 

Sharing a video of hooded men breaking into a car which was stuck in queuing traffic, she said: 'In 2021, I took my kids to In-N-Out in Oakland. 

'We watched a group, probably coming from the airport, so as they watched their car being emptied.

'They were right there but were powerless to stop it. I decided to move out of my formerly beloved hometown.'

A man with family in Oakland also shared a horrific tale of thieves taking his medic sister's documents from her car, forcing her to cancel appointments for 'severely disabled' infant patients.  

'My sis lives in Oakland, her car's been broken into four times in last year,' he wrote on Twitter. 

'She's a speech pathologist and two of the four times thieves stole only her test assessment papers. Literally worthless to them. 

'She had to cancel numerous appts. All severely disabled kids. The impact is real.'

Also writing on Twitter, a former West Oakland and Temescal resident said: 'I lived in Oakland for years. 

'During that time I was jumped three times, robbed, had my house broken into and car windows smashed more time than I can count.'