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This SF district attorney recall thing is a really good example of the media's power to manufacture a story. Even if you accept the premise that crime stats ris

by ahoy 4y ago

This SF district attorney recall thing is a really good example of the media's power to manufacture a story. Even if you accept the premise that crime stats rise or fall in response to DA policies, those stats mostly fell during Boudin's tenure. But if you show the video of someone robbing a convenience store (in oakland! another city entirely!) enough times on loop, you can convince enough voters that Something Must Be Done.

derwiki 4y ago
The number of employees who quit the DA’s office because of Chesa was not manufactured, and is ultimately why I voted the way I did.
CryptoPunk 4y ago
ardit33 4y ago
It seems that the people of SF don't agree with you. Crime didn't fell, prosecutions did. It is like the Trumpian 'if you don't test, then covid doesn't exist'. There you go the clear graph: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/06/05/why-san-franciscos-clash-with-its-district-attorney-matters https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/06/05/why-san-f...
AdrianB1 4y ago
If you don't prosecute anyone, crime stats fall. Why? Because nobody will care to report crimes knowing they will not be prosecuted.
quartesixte 4y ago
Crime stats as presented and as experienced can diverge quite heavily. I think the one thing with the data is how much crime it takes to make a neighborhood feel unsafe. And my hypothesis is that the threshold is very, very low. Like double digits low. It doesn’t take much to rattle the psyche of a community. But sure. Crime falls by 40% during a DA’s tenure (hypothetical example) so all is well right? But what is the absolute number and what does that absolute number translate to in the real world?
avalys 4y ago
Statistics are not reality. Crime stats fell because the DA was so tolerant of crime, people stopped bothering to report anything but the most serious ones.
- beebmam 4y ago
  Is there evidence for this claim?
  - upsidesinclude 4y ago
    Have you been to SF? That's your evidence
  - worker_person 4y ago
    The evidence was stolen. Person filing the complaint was mugged. Mugger was hailed as a hero.
  - vineyardmike 4y ago
    There is tons of AnecData suggesting this is true. The recalled DA himself admitted to not reporting his car breaking because he didn’t think it’d be prosecuted. I can name roughly 10 people in my life who said they didn’t bother. Another 5 who went to police only to be told by them that there was nothing that would happen and that they shouldn’t waste time on finishing the paperwork. To complete the data, I know only 1 person who fully reported a crime, and it was an extreme violent crime.
  - elefanten 4y ago
    The pervasive testimony from local law enforcement that the DA's office won't even respond about prosecuting most offenses. Not just minor offenses -- theft, burglaries, assault and at least one manslaughter/homicide case. The second hand testimony from residents and business owners saying the police are telling them not to expect them to be able to prosecute anyone. But there's also the evidence of what Boudin openly said and advocated. Sometimes the message and the stated intent are worth replacing regardless of how effective they've been at their goals.
newbie2020 4y ago
This is a great case of where statistics don’t tell the whole story. I’ve seen multiple crimes in SF that I don’t bother reporting since I know the police won’t do anything about it. So up this years’ stats by at least a few notches in the vandalism, car breakin, theft, sale of illegal goods, and bodily harm inflicted upon another categories…
dragonwriter 4y ago
> This SF district attorney recall thing is a really good example of the media's power to manufacture a story Given the degree to which opposition to Boudin comes from other progressive Democrats, including politicians, in SF, the article we are discussing about a “message” to “Democrats and the nation” is an example of that.

by ahoy 4y ago

derwiki 4y ago

The number of employees who quit the DA’s office because of Chesa was not manufactured, and is ultimately why I voted the way I did.

CryptoPunk 4y ago

ardit33 4y ago

It seems that the people of SF don't agree with you. Crime didn't fell, prosecutions did. It is like the Trumpian 'if you don't test, then covid doesn't exist'. There you go the clear graph: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/06/05/why-san-franciscos-clash-with-its-district-attorney-matters https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/06/05/why-san-f...

AdrianB1 4y ago

If you don't prosecute anyone, crime stats fall. Why? Because nobody will care to report crimes knowing they will not be prosecuted.

quartesixte 4y ago

Crime stats as presented and as experienced can diverge quite heavily. I think the one thing with the data is how much crime it takes to make a neighborhood feel unsafe. And my hypothesis is that the threshold is very, very low. Like double digits low. It doesn’t take much to rattle the psyche of a community. But sure. Crime falls by 40% during a DA’s tenure (hypothetical example) so all is well right? But what is the absolute number and what does that absolute number translate to in the real world?

avalys 4y ago

Statistics are not reality. Crime stats fell because the DA was so tolerant of crime, people stopped bothering to report anything but the most serious ones.

beebmam 4y ago
Is there evidence for this claim?
- upsidesinclude 4y ago
  Have you been to SF? That's your evidence
- worker_person 4y ago
  The evidence was stolen. Person filing the complaint was mugged. Mugger was hailed as a hero.
- vineyardmike 4y ago
  There is tons of AnecData suggesting this is true. The recalled DA himself admitted to not reporting his car breaking because he didn’t think it’d be prosecuted. I can name roughly 10 people in my life who said they didn’t bother. Another 5 who went to police only to be told by them that there was nothing that would happen and that they shouldn’t waste time on finishing the paperwork. To complete the data, I know only 1 person who fully reported a crime, and it was an extreme violent crime.
- elefanten 4y ago
  The pervasive testimony from local law enforcement that the DA's office won't even respond about prosecuting most offenses. Not just minor offenses -- theft, burglaries, assault and at least one manslaughter/homicide case. The second hand testimony from residents and business owners saying the police are telling them not to expect them to be able to prosecute anyone. But there's also the evidence of what Boudin openly said and advocated. Sometimes the message and the stated intent are worth replacing regardless of how effective they've been at their goals.

newbie2020 4y ago

This is a great case of where statistics don’t tell the whole story. I’ve seen multiple crimes in SF that I don’t bother reporting since I know the police won’t do anything about it. So up this years’ stats by at least a few notches in the vandalism, car breakin, theft, sale of illegal goods, and bodily harm inflicted upon another categories…

dragonwriter 4y ago

> This SF district attorney recall thing is a really good example of the media's power to manufacture a story Given the degree to which opposition to Boudin comes from other progressive Democrats, including politicians, in SF, the article we are discussing about a “message” to “Democrats and the nation” is an example of that.