SFPD #fail: Under-reporting minority arrests

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by john3232

I'm referring to overall crime. I own a home in the Sunset just off 19th and six blocks from Tarvel which is very safe. In fact one of the reasons rents are high is because of the safety issue. You can park a car outside or walk home at night after shopping at the Safeway without much fear.

Here are the first three areas you mentioned in Oakland:
Notice the crime data in the 800 range.
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...akland-CA.html
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...akland-CA.html
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...akland-CA.html

Now look at the Sunset and Richmond.
Crime range in the 400 range:
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...ncisco-CA.html
Richmond:
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...ncisco-CA.html

Those are the crime indexes for San Francisco and Oakland, not the neighborhoods.

Furthermore, the crime that does happen in the Sunset is generally not the kind that happens in other areas that are considered "safe" like Pac Heights or North Beach... crimes of opportunity are very rare in the Sunset. It's rather the opposite... the violence that does occur in the Sunset and other predominantly asian neighborhoods in San Francisco is very similar to the violence that happens in the City's black neighborhoods in that the victims are almost always targeted. For one thing, it's almost always asian-on-asian in the Sunset just like its almost always black-on-black in Hunters Point... for another, they generally do not cooperate with the police. Take the hammer attack from earlier this year for example:

Two women attacked in Sunset District home invastion upgraded to stable condition | abc7news.com

That doesn't sound like someone randomly decided to rough up an old lady in her house, it sounds like someone was sending a message. The quintuple murder in Lakeview that was originally thought to be a murder-suicide was revealed to likely be a paid hit. There is a very real underworld in San Francisco's Chinese community that is given a very wide berth by SFPD for many reasons, some of which originate in City Hall. How "safe" a neighborhood like the Sunset is depends very much on whether you're a part of the local Chinese community or not... if you're not, the sporadic violence is all but guaranteed not to concern you.

IMO part of why asian crime in SF is not reported separately is because it would likely attract more federal attention to their neighborhoods which is exactly what they (Chinese criminal underworld) don't want. They have a much larger influence on San Francisco politics than many care to admit.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

Those are the crime indexes for San Francisco and Oakland, not the neighborhoods.

Correct, so I changed my post.

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

...How "safe" a neighborhood like the Sunset is depends very much on whether you're a part of the local Chinese community or not...

More likely this depends on if you are involved in criminal activity and not simply because you belong to the local Chinese community. The example you've given is hardly indicative of what goes on in the Sunset district. The elderly are far more likely to get beaten and robbed in other parts of the city.

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

... the violence that does occur in the Sunset and other predominantly Asian neighborhoods in San Francisco is very similar to the violence that happens in the City's black neighborhoods in that the victims are almost always targeted.

While the gang violence might well be the same the overall crime rate in the Sunset district compared with the Black district of Hunter Point district is not even close.

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

I'm assuming you're qualifying "safety" in terms of violent crime....

Right so why are there more assaults in Toler Heights and Eastmont Hills compared with Oakland as a whole?

Eastmont Hills
More assault, burglary
Eastmont Hills Crime Map Beta - Trulia

Toler Heights
More assaults
Toler Heights Crime Map Beta - Trulia


Inner Sunset compared with SF as a whole
More vandalism, theft
Inner Sunset Crime Map Beta - Trulia

Outer Sunset
More burglary
Outer Sunset Crime Map Beta - Trulia

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by john3232

Correct, so I changed my post.




More likely this depends on if you are involved in criminal activity and not simply because you belong to the local Chinese community. The example you've given is hardly indicative of what goes on in the Sunset district. The elderly are far more likely to get beaten and robbed in other parts of the city.


While the gang violence might well be the same the overall crime rate in the Sunset district compared with the Black district of Hunter Point district is not even close.






Right so why are there more assaults in Toler Heights and Eastmont Hills compared with Oakland as a whole?

Eastmont Hills
More assault, burglary
Eastmont Hills Crime Map Beta - Trulia

Toler Heights
More assaults
Toler Heights Crime Map Beta - Trulia


Inner Sunset compared with SF as a whole
More vandalism, theft
Inner Sunset Crime Map Beta - Trulia

Outer Sunset
More burglary
Outer Sunset Crime Map Beta - Trulia

Those trulia reports consider MacArthur Blvd (where the vast majority of violent crime happens) to be a part of Toler Heights and the Eastmont Hills... anyone who knows the area knows that MacArthur Blvd doesn't have much of anything to do with the foothill neighborhoods between Seminary and 98th. Burglary is definitely a significant problem in these neighborhoods... violent crime not so much.

And "involved in criminal activity" is a broad characterization... are people who pay traffickers to get into the country illegally "involved in criminal activity"? Are people who are coerced into laundering money for criminal organizations "involved in criminal activity"? It runs a lot deeper than just the people doing the shooting.

And while the Sunset doesn't have a high overall incidence of violent crime, that's because it's middle class whereas Hunters Point is the poorest of the poor. When you compare similar neighborhoods (i.e. Chinatown) then it's not very different at all. Moreover, no one knows what the actual crime rate in Chinatown is... The SFPD notoriously ignores crime in this area when it involves locals.