Is it a brutal reality that San Francisco is NOT a safe city overall? (Los Angeles: high crime, live)

[Francois]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Here's my answer to the type of thug who would punch a woman.

Concealed carry.

But it's A-OK to punch a man???

[Jellobiafra]

Originally Posted by City Boy

What's up with this site and it's obsession with bashing "liberals" why is everything turned into some sort of left wing conspiracy or political bias. Since when were republicans the standard for morality and everything right in society?

Isn't it just our turn? I mean, the liberals did the same thing for the last 8 years...fair is fair? LOL...

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

San Diego is safe. Portland is safe. Boston is safe. Denver is safe.

But San Francisco?

While it still might be one of the most expensive cities to live in here in the USA, there's a lot of evidence that shows that many crimes occurr right in some of the city's most chic and upscale neighborhoods. This includes tourist areas at night. In addition, many people in this forum seem to point out that San Francisco doesn't feel that safe a lot of the time.

So what do you guys think? Statistics and crime data aside, do you FEEL like San Francisco is a safe city overall? Could you live in SF for years in a nice district area without being assaulted or having your place broken into? Do you have many friends who have been victims of crimes? Or is all this talk blown out of proportion.

I personally have never felt truly unsafe in SF walking around at night in particular, other than the Tenderloin. The only scary incident I can recall was one at the Metreon in SOMA, where this heroin junkie high as a kite kept following me and my friends around, he was in a dream world but kept staring at us vigorously. We walked away and then he trailed behind us, track marks on the arms and all. Eventually we got into the movie theater, but when we came out (2 hours later!) he was standing downstairs claiming he missed us, and if we would please "help" him out so he could buy us some dope. At the point, we notified security. That was the only negative thing I've experienced, and unfortunately, there does seem to be a lot of unstable wierdos on the streets who are most likely harmless but definitely intimidating.

So overall, I've never felt afraid in SF, but I do get shocked by the crime data I see. Why, in such an affluent and overly-gentrified city, is there this much crime? And how bizarre is it that there could be several housing projects within city limits?

Well anyways, let's start a debate and hear your opinions.

San Francisco is safer than San Diego or Denver. The fact that you are afraid of wierdos means nothing

[Sassberto]

I have said this before, but SF is unique in that it is "spotty", there are bad areas near major tourist districts and nice areas, often just a block away, contrast that to NYC or LA where you have good side vs. bad side of town, large unbroken swaths of good areas vs SF's good block / bad block, good hood / bad hood. SF is sketchy after dark in a way NYC is not. SF feels more like Brooklyn than it does Manhattan.

[thepinksquid]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

SF feels more like Brooklyn than it does Manhattan.

I never thought of that comparison before, but I agree x1,000.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Boompa

San Francisco is safer than San Diego or Denver.

NO it's not nor has it ever been even close.

2007 C-D crime index:
SD: 339.8
Denver: 409.7
SF:501.7

2007 C-D murder rate per 100K:
SD: 4.7
Denver: 8.2
SF:13.6

Even the entire metro area is more dangerous that either SD or Denver and even Greater LA:
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/Metr...8_Rank_Rev.pdf

[rah]

Originally Posted by Boompa

San Francisco is safer than San Diego or Denver.

no, it's not.

Violent crime rate 2007:
SF: 874.1
Denver: 619.5
San Diego: 502.1

Property crime rate 2007:
SF: 4,695.6
Denver: 3,908.2
San Diego: 3,502.0

[rah]

And sav858 is right that it never really has been that close...if we go back and compare average yearly violent crime rates from 1990-1995 it looks like this:

SF: 1,656.6
San Diego: 1,130.6
Denver: 976.9

[sav858]

^wow, that's very interesting how much crime has dropped since the early-mid 90's, I remember that was a pretty crime ridden time it seemed; no wonder so many people left CA during that time. Even though we have high unemployment and real estate values are down like they were in the 90's, at least there isn't nearly as much crime as there was back then. SF and SD dropped by nearly 1/2 since then, pretty good for both cities.

[rah]

^ yeah it is pretty amazing, especially when you look at cities like NYC (2,062.3 violent crime average from 1990-95, and only 613.8 in 2007). Denver dropped a lot too, but not as much as SF or SD.

and now I'm curious about property crime...SF, SD, and Denver average yearly property crime rates 1990-1995:

SF: 7,561.0
Denver: 6,577.6
San Diego: 6,394.0