Does S.F. have a gang and Crime problem???? (Los Angeles: section 8, crime rate)

[Daniel_T]

I was watching this documentary the other day on gangs in San Francisco and they made it sound like S.F. is rampant with gangs!!! The show was also saying that the city has a very high crime rate and that the areas of town that are safe and bad change block by block. They talked about these areas being bad:

Mission District, SOMA, Chinatown, and the area just west of downtown. Can't remember what it was called. That's a big chunk of city to be unsafe for a place of San Francisco's size.!!

I was under the impression that while any city has crime, that San Francisco was actually VERY safe and clean. I would love your opinion and insight.

Daniel

[King0fthehill]

While I don't live in San Fran, a friend of mine did and he told me that the following areas were shoddy:

Hunter's Point, East Palo Alto, Oakland, Richmond, along with certain parts of Vallejo and Berkeley.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

I was watching this documentary the other day on gangs in San Francisco and they made it sound like S.F. is rampant with gangs!!! The show was also saying that the city has a very high crime rate and that the areas of town that are safe and bad change block by block. They talked about these areas being bad:

Mission District, SOMA, Chinatown, and the area just west of downtown. Can't remember what it was called. That's a big chunk of city to be unsafe for a place of San Francisco's size.!!

I was under the impression that while any city has crime, that San Francisco was actually VERY safe and clean. I would love your opinion and insight.

Daniel

If you were watching Gangland -- that stuff happened YEARS ago... after all the shows about what's going on today, they had to reach back for that stuff!

Is there a gang problem? Yes. Look around you -- every where gangs are a problem. I don't think you'll find an urban area of any importance where gangs aren't a problem.

And San Francisco being VERY safe and clean -- no. But as for cities of it's size, I'd think it's better than average....

[Daniel_T]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

If you were watching Gangland -- that stuff happened YEARS ago... after all the shows about what's going on today, they had to reach back for that stuff!

Is there a gang problem? Yes. Look around you -- every where gangs are a problem. I don't think you'll find an urban area of any importance where gangs aren't a problem.

And San Francisco being VERY safe and clean -- no. But as for cities of it's size, I'd think it's better than average....

HI, I was watching Gangland, and there was another show, I don't know the title. I know that every city has it's rough areas, but from what i've seen on Tv and heard on these forums, I am just curious. The people on the forum make S.F. sound like a dump!!!

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by King0fthehill

While I don't live in San Fran, a friend of mine did and he told me that the following areas were shoddy:

Hunter's Point, East Palo Alto, Oakland, Richmond, along with certain parts of Vallejo and Berkeley.

Yes, those are our official "bad neighborhoods," though I wasn't aware of any major problems in Berkeley. Ironically, I've lived in two of those places (Hunter's Pt, which I live at the edge of now & East Palo Alto), and I work in another two (Oakland & Richmond). Even those cities aren't ALL that bad, and have plenty of nice pockets... EPA was probably the worst, and even there I walked my dog at night without problems. Would I suggest wandering through East Oakland by yourself at night? Nope! But they aren't quite as scary as people think, and I've actually grown to love some of those areas.

P.S. Of the ones you listed, only Hunter's Point is actually IN San Francisco - the rest are in the East Bay or Peninsula, so not really part of the city. SF is pretty safe for a big city, and even here in the "worst" part of it, I've only seen a few obvious gang members. Just don't wear all red or blue if you're walking through the point, LOL.

[Daniel_T]

Thanks for all the replies. My neighbor used to live in oakland for a long time. She has told me to try and steer clear of there. I have ALSO heard about Richmond. Haven't heard anything good about it though.

What are some of the good neighborhoods in the area? Do bad neighborhoods back up to the nice ones?

Thanks,

[DjRey]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

Thanks for all the replies. My neighbor used to live in oakland for a long time. She has told me to try and steer clear of there. I have ALSO heard about Richmond. Haven't heard anything good about it though.

What are some of the good neighborhoods in the area? Do bad neighborhoods back up to the nice ones?

Thanks,

Oakland is bit worse than Richmond.And it's not at all like New Jerz,NY or LA.

[rah]

San Francisco does have it's dangerous areas. In particular it has some really bad housing projects. There's an uptick in crime right now, which is at it's highest since the early 90's. San Francisco is about in the middle when it comes to crime. For example, it has a higher overall crime rate than NYC, LA, San Diego, Austin, Seattle, Portland, Miami, Boston, Denver, San Antonio, Long Beach, Sacramento, Fresno. It has a lower overall crime rate than Oakland, Stockton, Phoenix, Detroit, Baltimore, New Orleans, St. Louis, Cleveland, Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Memphis...You get the point.

I've posted this before, and here it is again, a rundown of sketchy areas of SF:

In San Francisco, there are a few "bad areas" though they come in varying intensities and a couple different flavors.:

The Tenderloin of course, between Geary, Mason, and Van Ness, and encompassing part of Mid-Market and going down 6th street into SOMA. It's bordered by Union Square to the East, Nob Hill to the North, Market Street and Soma to the South, and Van Ness to the west. Civic Center makes up it's Southwest border. This is the crackhead/bum/hooker/pimp/drug dealer/hipster/immigrant/lost tourist/crazy person/brothel/residential hotel neighborhood. Being in the middle of downtown, it's easy for unwary people to wander into, though there are plenty of cheap but nice restaurants and bars and such.

There's Bayview/Hunters Point, on the southeast side of the city, cut off by highway 101 to the west and south, Cesar Chavez street in the north, and the bay in the east. isolated, with some decay, lots of working-class people, light industry, abandoned docks and factories, a closed navy yard, and a lot of housing projects, clustered on a hill next to the bay and navy Yard. there's a lot of drug/gang violence. 3rd street is the main strip.

Potrero hill, which is nice in many parts, but on the south and east sides around the housing projects its pretty sketchy. The Dogpatch area is very gritty too, but not really bad.

The Mission District, bordered by Dolores street on the west, 13th/Duboce street on the north, Potrero Ave. in the east, and Cesar Chavez in the south. This is a large neighborhood with many latino residents and latin immigrants, as well as a rapidly gentrifying western section that's filling up with hipsters and yuppies. There's a good deal of gang violence between Nortenos and Surenos. 22nd street is the north/south dividing line. The main sketchy areas would be 16th and Mission, 24th street from Mission to Potrero, the projects between Cesar Chavez, Folsom, and Harrison, and surrounding area, the Valencia Garden projects (though they're much nicer now that they've been rebuilt), and pretty much all of Capp and Shotwell streets (fitting names huh?).

The Western Addition: the Fillmore District, and to a lesser extent Hayes Valley and the Lower Haight, on the edges as well as a small section of Divisadero street and surroundings. There are alot of projects here, and the expected gang/drug violence.

Also there are some small projects on Bernal Heights that can be sketchy. The ones on Alemany/Ellsworth, and less so the ones between Mission and Holly Park.

Chinatown can be a little bit sketchy, though just a little, mostly at night. It's pretty gritty and there are a couple projects.

the Excelsior and Portola Districts can be a little sketchy at times in certain parts, but overall they're quiet residential neighborhoods (with the exception of Mission Street).

Then there's Lakeview/Oceanview (either name works). Bordered by 280 and Daly City to the south and 280 to the east, Junipero Serra to the west, and the Ingleside Heights area to the North. This area I heard had the highest murder rate in San Francisco in the early 90's, even more so the Hunters Point which is usually the leader in that department. There are a couple small projects, and a lot of section 8. there's alot of drug violence, and gang rivalries with Visitacion Valley and the Sunnydale projects to the east.

Visitacion Valley. This is definetely one of the most dangerous parts of the city. most of the crime is centered in and around the Sunnydale projects which are pretty big and decrepit (though the infamous Geneva Towers were imploded in 1998), and involve a lot of gang and drug violence. There are also alot of working class immigrants in the area, especially Chinese people. The borders are Geneva Ave. and Daly City to the South, the Portola District to the North, 101 and Hunters Point to the North east, Bayshore Blvd. to the east, and McLaren Park to the west.

[CamaroGuy]

Originally Posted by DjRey

Oakland is bit worse than Richmond.And it's not at all like New Jerz,NY or LA.

Los Angeles is the gang capital of the world. It now become a racial thing between the blacks and hispanics.

[Daniel_T]

Thank you rah for the great post. That's a lot to take in but it is very informative. Thanks,

Daniel