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> There are issues with crime of course Here is the crime stats for SF, more property crime in SF and less violent crime in SF compared to there cities, and it
by bhouston 4y ago
> There are issues with crime of course
Here is the crime stats for SF, more property crime in SF and less violent crime in SF compared to there cities, and it seemed to peak in 2020 decreasing since then:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/fixing-san-francisco-problems/crime https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/fixing-san-francis...
- zaroth 4y agoDo the stats tell the full story? If you stop prosecuting crime, and cops then stop arresting criminals, the stats go down and the crime goes up.
- bhouston 4y ago> Do the stats tell the full story? If you stop prosecuting crime, and cops then stop arresting criminals, the stats go down and the crime goes up. Do you have any stats to share? I think another telling part in that article I linked to is that survey respondents in SF in July 2022 said the biggest issue for them, by almost a factor of 2, is homelessness and not crime. That stat appears to have a long-term upward trend: https://sfgov.org/scorecards/safety-net/homeless-population#:~:text=Number%20of%20People%20Experiencing%20Homelessness%20during%20each%20PIT%20Count%2C%202005%2D2022,-Sheltered%2FUnsheltered%3A&text=Under%20the%202022%20PIT%20Count,homeless%20population%20from%202019%20–%202022 https://sfgov.org/scorecards/safety-net/homeless-population#....
- ETH_start 4y agoThe homelessness issue is mostly people with severe substance abuse problems, and concurrently brain-damage/mental-illness, roaming the streets, making people feel uneasy.
- gumby 4y agoViolent crime is a useful metric because it’s generally reported and followed. Property crime is what’s more likely to languish, leading to underreporting. So ppl who study crime incidence use violent crime as the like-to-like bellwether.
- dsfyu404ed 4y agoThe whole reporting rate thing is mostly irrelevant IMO. It's the relative rate of property crime vs violent crime that matters. Violent crime is not generally directed at a broad of a cross section of the population like property crime is. Violent crime is dominated by people settling disputes that can't be settled in court. To your average techie who'd never think about rounding up a couple buddies and home invading the dude that sold them cut drugs SF's relatively high property crime rate makes it "feel rough" even if the violent crime rate isn't that remarkable.
- nativeit 4y agoUm, stats would reflect all of that. There would be clear data showing reported crimes that don’t lead to arrests or prosecution. Do you have this data, or are you just “common sensing” your way into scaring people out of meaningful and necessary criminal justice reforms?
- more_corn 4y agoDo you live in SF or is this just armchair criticism? The general lawlessness is reflected by evidence on the ground. The police in SF have stopped arresting people because the DA doesn’t prosecute. I’d say this is an open secret, but it’s not secret. It’s just common knowledge in SF. People have stopped bothering with the police because they don’t do anything. Total collapse of social order reflects in the stats as a drop in crime. Remember that viral video of the cops rolling up on a burglary in progress? (it was at a dispensary if that matters) The burglar ran out literally in front of the cops and they did nothing. That’s the attitude of the police in SF. It’s actually been that way for a while and was quaint before it got bad. Beer in the park? Technically illegal but cops aren’t going to do anything so feel free. I’ve had a friend tell me “it’s basically impossible to get a moving violation in San Francisco unless you do something blatantly antisocial“. Again this was actually a benefit before things got bad. A little flex feels nice. But it cuts both ways. I called and reported a homeless person stealing a nice road bike. It was locked to itself in front of a convenience store. He picked it up on a shopping cart and hustled away. Called the police. While watching him do it. Description , location. They refused to do anything. They hassled me for wasting their time. I watched on more than one occasion the weird blatant shoplifting. People just openly load up a bag and walk out. I was In getting a covid shot and a dude rode his bike into the pharmacy. He scooped some stuff off a shelf into a bag and rode out. Staff studiously ignored him. I’ve walked into stores where literally everything is under glass, locked to the shelf or empty box. because otherwise people just walk out with it because the police don’t do anything. I wanted to buy something but couldn’t because the staff were busy watching a strung-out dude who was clearly aiming to steal something. I went to check out what they were so attentive about. There was nothing left, just a few notebooks. Something like 17 stores have left Union square. In part because of the general lawlessness. I get what the police are doing though. If you don’t prosecute we don’t arrest. And they ARE trying to maintain order. They were out in union square in force to try to keep shoppers and stores safe in December. So yeah, data. Go visit San Francisco if you think this is all made up. Go buy some heroin openly on the street. Go steal some stuff. It’ll really open your eyes. But even with all that it feels pretty safe compared to other dangerous places. Aside from the uptick in armed robberies in public places. In conclusion. There’s stats and then there’s eyes on the ground. Go check it for yourself. I highly recommend it to anyone hoping to extend “necessary criminal justice reforms” (which I actually agree with). The SF model is not the right way to do it. I have some ideas but this is not the place.
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- BurningFrog 4y agoObligatory: Crime stats only measure reported crime.
- bhouston 4y ago> Crime stats only measure reported crime. Yeah, when I see facts that cause me cognitive dissonance, I also pull reasons to disregard them out of thin air as well.
- BurningFrog 4y agoConventional wisdom in SF is that reporting a crime only has insurance and therapeutic value. No police work will be done after the report is filed. So many don't bother. I certainly didn't report my 2 SF car break-ins.
- local_crmdgeon 4y agoThese stats only matter if police take reports, which of course, they no longer do in SF.
- m0llusk 4y agoSome people have had trouble getting police reports filed, but what usually works is starting from the closest precinct office. Police reports are often required for any kind of insurance coverage. I have gotten police reports filed for a range of crimes in recent years, so the general statement that police do not take reports is clearly wrong. Recent crime problems have generated a large number of insurance claims that demonstrate this. San Francisco clearly has serious problems to address, but hysterical and reactionary lies are probably not going to help with that no matter how deep the related emotional trauma may be.
- local_crmdgeon 4y ago>reactionary Sounds like you're engaging in bad faith. I think you should consider mindfulness and re-examining your learned biases.