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Old 02-05-2012, 04:26 PM
 
97 posts, read 190,633 times
Reputation: 51

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Which areas of SF should a tourist particularly be cautious of? I know that the Tenderlion is quite iffy, but there are plenty of hotels in that area. The Mission District is another area that I wonder about as well. Are these areas now ok? They were quite dangerous back in the 90's. Thanks for your help!
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Old 02-05-2012, 04:32 PM
 
Location: South Korea
5,242 posts, read 13,076,984 times
Reputation: 2958
The Tenderloin, 6th Street in SOMA (basically the southern extension of the Tenderloin), anywhere in the Mission that is on or east of Mission Street, the public housing in the Western Addition (mainly centered around Fillmore a few blocks south of the Japantown Mall). Those are pretty much the main crappy areas that you might wander into. Also the SE quarter of the city is often pretty crappy but there's not really any reason for a tourist to go near there.
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Old 02-05-2012, 04:35 PM
 
97 posts, read 190,633 times
Reputation: 51
I stayed at a Hotel on Jones St. in the 90's. I was told to be careful in the area, but I hear that the area has since improved though. Is this true?
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Old 02-05-2012, 07:55 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
434 posts, read 1,018,943 times
Reputation: 202
I think a lot depends on the individual: does he carry valuable wristwatches and cameras in the open? Is he aware of his surroundings? Does he look like an easy target? Does he prefer clubbing in the wee hours while intoxicated, or exploring the city sober during the day?

I was in the audience at a recent presentation when a police captain noted that the oblivious pedestrian or bus rider waving a high-priced iPhone in the open is a nice target for theft anywhere in San Francisco, day or night.

With all that out of the way: I' d be more watchful in the Bayview, Hunter's Point and the Tenderloin than in other parts of the city. The Mission district has changed a great deal since the 90s. I visited the area often last year and never felt unsafe there ... but I rarely ventured east of Mission Street, and I'm daytime kind of guy.

Finally: I think I know S.F. well enough to respond, but not as well as others posting here. If there's a disagreement, I'll likely defer to others in this forum.

Almost forgot: you might want to take a look at the crimemapping.com web site:
CrimeMapping.com - National Map
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Old 02-05-2012, 08:46 PM
 
Location: San Francisco, CA
506 posts, read 1,154,494 times
Reputation: 317
Another thing to keep in mind is the nature of crimes in SF that are likely to affect a tourist or random bystander. As far as I've seen the most common problems are:

- iPhone muggings. Thugs grab someone's iPhone, and often beat up victims too.
- Caught-in-the-crossfire shootings.
- Crazy people encounters.

These are all pretty easy to avoid. Don't wander around obliviously holding your iPhone out in front of you. Don't hang out in bad areas after 10 pm. (And at any time, if you see young males looking like they're getting into an argument QUICKLY LEAVE THAT AREA.) And avoid interacting with the crazyfolk.

I find the last one hardest, because some of the crazy people are really sad and confused, and it'd be nice to help them. But too risky.
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Old 02-05-2012, 09:15 PM
 
97 posts, read 190,633 times
Reputation: 51
When I visited in the 90's, I was very street-wise; I walked fast, was aware of my surroundings and looked like that I knew where I was going. I have come more lax these days as my area has become a lot safer.

I am not familiar with either Bayview or Hunters Point. When visited other places, I am more familiar with my surroundings.
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Old 02-05-2012, 09:38 PM
 
Location: The Bay and Maryland
1,361 posts, read 3,714,182 times
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You probably should avoid an area known as "Lakeview" which is technically known as Oceanview or the OMI (Oceanview-Merced-Ingleside). I grew up in this area. It is located in the southwest corner of The City wedged between Ocean Ave to the north, San Jose Ave to the east, 19th Ave the west and Brotherhood Way to the south. This area is the epitome of SF's poorly publicized violent inner city. Although this area is becoming more gentrified every year, armed robberies, assaults, fights and gunfire occur here every single week of the year. This is no exaggeration. Here is some irrefutable police evidence that certain parts of SF are just as bad as any ghetto in the country in terms of gun violence. Criminals must have some bad aim because people call the police for "shots fired" sometimes everyday in the Lakeview neighborhood. Mind you these are only the times people call the police to report gunfire, assaults, robberies etc. or when the police actually respond. Many days, there are literally hundreds of police calls in this neighborhood. From last summer to this winter, there has been shots fired every week in Lakeview (sometimes everyday). This has been typical of the neighborhood for decades and believe it or not it used to be significantly worse in the 80's, 90's and early 2000's:

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shooting | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shooting | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shooting | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco
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Old 02-06-2012, 01:25 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
330 posts, read 749,668 times
Reputation: 324
Regarding Jones St, its tough to say unless you know what the cross-street is. The Northern part of Jones is completely safe and very nice. It can start feeling a bit sketchy starting about Geary or O'Farrell...then once you get to Ellis, Eddy, Turk, and Golden Gate you are in the heart of the 'Loin and its seriously bad. Drug addicts, drug dealers, schizophrenics, etc....just a very unpleasant area to walk through.

I think the easiest way a tourist could find themselves in a sketchy area would be to continue walking Southwest down Market street past the Union Square shopping area. Market deteriorates very quickly once you hit 5th and stays pretty bad all the way through about 9th.
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Old 02-06-2012, 03:01 PM
 
Location: San Francisco, CA
180 posts, read 211,246 times
Reputation: 86
Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern-Mike View Post
Which areas of SF should a tourist particularly be cautious of? I know that the Tenderlion is quite iffy, but there are plenty of hotels in that area. The Mission District is another area that I wonder about as well. Are these areas now ok? They were quite dangerous back in the 90's. Thanks for your help!
Honestly, besides Hunters Point, Bayview, and some parts of Mission - you can pretty much walk anywhere in San Francisco. Tenderloin has a lot of yummy ethnic restaurants, so it's worth having dinner there one night. Walk with confidence and you'll be fine. If you get nervous, just walk along the street. There's plenty of car traffic to deter any would be muggers if you're walking along the street in the bike lane. Use Yelp.com for restaurant reviews. Enjoy!
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Old 02-06-2012, 04:00 PM
 
60 posts, read 59,011 times
Reputation: 51
There is no reason a tourist would even go over to that area. I doubt tourists have to worry about that part of the city.

Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenchild08 View Post
You probably should avoid an area known as "Lakeview" which is technically known as Oceanview or the OMI (Oceanview-Merced-Ingleside). I grew up in this area. It is located in the southwest corner of The City wedged between Ocean Ave to the north, San Jose Ave to the east, 19th Ave the west and Brotherhood Way to the south. This area is the epitome of SF's poorly publicized violent inner city. Although this area is becoming more gentrified every year, armed robberies, assaults, fights and gunfire occur here every single week of the year. This is no exaggeration. Here is some irrefutable police evidence that certain parts of SF are just as bad as any ghetto in the country in terms of gun violence. Criminals must have some bad aim because people call the police for "shots fired" sometimes everyday in the Lakeview neighborhood. Mind you these are only the times people call the police to report gunfire, assaults, robberies etc. or when the police actually respond. Many days, there are literally hundreds of police calls in this neighborhood. From last summer to this winter, there has been shots fired every week in Lakeview (sometimes everyday). This has been typical of the neighborhood for decades and believe it or not it used to be significantly worse in the 80's, 90's and early 2000's:

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shooting | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shooting | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shooting | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco

Shots fired | EveryBlock San Francisco
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