Why is San Diego so safe? - Take 2 (Oceanside, San Marcos: low income, 2014)

[DANNNY__]

San Diego is one of the safest - if not the safest - metro in the country if you look at both violent and property crime.

The last thread was sidetracked by racial discussion - let's not get into that here. What are the factors in terms of city policies, culture, economy, etc. that make San Diego such a safe place to live?

[kettlepot]

Even in the minority neighborhoods, if the residents think you are suspicious or a criminal, they will rat you out in a heart beat. God bless 'em, there is no "code of silence" in San Diego like there is in cities with a more established gang culture.

[sdhkshdcny09]

San Diego cops and sheriffs are also pretty immersed in their communities. You often see them at community events, street fairs, etc. with their own booths and participants. They are also heavily involved in local schools (as are firefighters).

I think this cultivates a police-community relationship based on trust, where residents see law enforcement as allies rather than threats. People are more comfortable approaching the police, unlike the militarized cops of other cities.

San Diego County municipalities also do a great job at investing in low-income communities. This includes both money and time. A good example is the Richmar neighborhood of San Marcos. The area was a low-income barrio and haven for crime. The city created a vision for the neighborhood, enlisted community partners, and initiated public-private-nonprofit partnerships to better serve residents. Crime dropped precipitously thereafter and test scores soared.

San Diego just does a really good (and surprisingly progressive job) at creating public-private partnerships to improve the standard of living in low income neighborhoods. Good examples:
- Downtown Oceanside
- Richmar (San Marcos)
- Encanto
- Barrio Logan
- La Mesa downtown
- Chollas View (Euclid trolley station vicinity)
- Golden Hill/ Sherman Heights (although possibly do to gentrification)
-

[LuvSouthOC]

Oh no, not this thread again. Was there a need for a part II?

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by sdhkshdcny09

San Diego cops and sheriffs are also pretty immersed in their communities. You often see them at community events, street fairs, etc. with their own booths and participants. They are also heavily involved in local schools (as are firefighters).

I think this cultivates a police-community relationship based on trust, where residents see law enforcement as allies rather than threats. People are more comfortable approaching the police, unlike the militarized cops of other cities.

San Diego County municipalities also do a great job at investing in low-income communities. This includes both money and time. A good example is the Richmar neighborhood of San Marcos. The area was a low-income barrio and haven for crime. The city created a vision for the neighborhood, enlisted community partners, and initiated public-private-nonprofit partnerships to better serve residents. Crime dropped precipitously thereafter and test scores soared.

San Diego just does a really good (and surprisingly progressive job) at creating public-private partnerships to improve the standard of living in low income neighborhoods. Good examples:
- Downtown Oceanside
- Richmar (San Marcos)
- Encanto
- Barrio Logan
- La Mesa downtown
- Chollas View (Euclid trolley station vicinity)
- Golden Hill/ Sherman Heights (although possibly do to gentrification)
-

This deserves to be applauded and good for SD (even if I hate that there is a part deux to this topic ).

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by sdhkshdcny09

San Diego cops and sheriffs are also pretty immersed in their communities. You often see them at community events, street fairs, etc. with their own booths and participants. They are also heavily involved in local schools (as are firefighters).

I think this cultivates a police-community relationship based on trust, where residents see law enforcement as allies rather than threats. People are more comfortable approaching the police, unlike the militarized cops of other cities.

San Diego County municipalities also do a great job at investing in low-income communities. This includes both money and time. A good example is the Richmar neighborhood of San Marcos. The area was a low-income barrio and haven for crime. The city created a vision for the neighborhood, enlisted community partners, and initiated public-private-nonprofit partnerships to better serve residents. Crime dropped precipitously thereafter and test scores soared.

San Diego just does a really good (and surprisingly progressive job) at creating public-private partnerships to improve the standard of living in low income neighborhoods. Good examples:
- Downtown Oceanside
- Richmar (San Marcos)
- Encanto
- Barrio Logan
- La Mesa downtown
- Chollas View (Euclid trolley station vicinity)
- Golden Hill/ Sherman Heights (although possibly do to gentrification)
-

La Mesa downtown was/is a low-income neighborhood?

[sdhkshdcny09]

Originally Posted by Jenkay

La Mesa downtown was/is a low-income neighborhood?

Definitely not low-income compared to SE San Diego, however, income levels in central La Mesa are not considerably different from the areas of Oceanside and (especially) San Marcos I was discussing. There are census tracts (2014 American Community Factfinder) that have median family/household incomes as low as $36,000, compared to San Diego city's median of $62,000. Is this poverty? No, but I would consider a family living on $36,000 as a struggling one.

I think the point I was trying to highlight is how increased investment in the less wealthy neighborhoods has had positive effects such as less crime. La Mesa has done a pretty good job at improving their downtown, which (in my opinion) has ripple effects in the adjacent neighborhoods/properties with lower incomes.

Personally, I am not an expert on La Mesa and do not want to assume causation over correlation. Nonetheless, the 20% drop in FBI indexed crime in La Mesa since 2010 is pretty significant and worth noting.

[garbagefile]

because it's t3h awesome

[Fatfox]

Originally Posted by sdhkshdcny09

San Diego just does a really good (and surprisingly progressive job) at creating public-private partnerships to improve the standard of living in low income neighborhoods. Good examples:
- Downtown Oceanside
- Richmar (San Marcos)
- Encanto
- Barrio Logan
- La Mesa downtown
- Chollas View (Euclid trolley station vicinity)
- Golden Hill/ Sherman Heights (although possibly do to gentrification)
-

Very true. Also to answer your question, more than half San Diego (from the interstate 8 all the way to rancho bernardo) is almost like one giant suburbia, where very little crime occurs. So if you are to look at the statistics of San Diego as a whole, of course the crime is going to look very low. Also gang violence and drug related crimes have decreased dramatically since the different communities have been so committed to putting an end to it.

[SD-2023]

Originally Posted by MovingtoCville

The obvious answer can be gleaned from the demographics table that Wiki provides: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego#Demographics

6.7% African American population, with a large percentage of those likely in transient roles thanks to the two major military establishments.

It may be offensive for everyone to think about, but the fact is that when there is a low black population, crime is dramatically better.

Unfortunately this is true. Although not politically correct.