SFPD #fail: Under-reporting minority arrests (San Francisco, Oakland: crime rate, neighborhood, legally)

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by jade408

I am really not understanding your beef here. I think it is dumb the categories misrepresent the city's population. Not the existance of groups. Having such a big "other" box skews the real data.

For example, people worry about racial profiling, primarily for blacks and latinos. If the police can't mark latino, then there is no way for researchers to see if the data supports that, if they are all mixed in with white and other.

It's just going to get messier though. If my fiance runs me over with her car what box do you mark for an irish-mexican with a sprinkling of native american and chinese?

The old melting pot just get's meltier and meltier.

My buddies kids are Swedish-Indian (not american indian) - Costa rican and miscellaneous caucasian.

[john3232]

The sooner the US govt. stops with the racial classification bs the better.

The only classification should be US citizen or not.

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by john3232

One can live in the Asian areas of the Richmond or Sunset districts with will little to fear.

Unfortunately the same can't be said for the Black areas of either SF or Oakland.

You haven't spent much time in Oakland then.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

It's just going to get messier though. If my fiance runs me over with her car what box do you mark for an irish-mexican with a sprinkling of native american and chinese?

The old melting pot just get's meltier and meltier.

My buddies kids are Swedish-Indian (not american indian) - Costa rican and miscellaneous caucasian.

One of my closest friends is egyptian-american. I had a really interesting chat with her about which box she checks. Technically, according to the census, she is white. Because North Africans and Middle Easterns (with Afghans, and Iranians) are classified as white. I would say "black" since Egypt is in Africa. She usually just does other. Obviously it is pretty dumb, no one will look at her and say "white." Technically she could claim basically anything: she is olive toned with dark brown curly hair and brown eyes.

Our history of the "one drop" rule overrides a lot. So black people lose, since we are the only ones who got hit with the one drop rule. I has some cousins that are 50% white, 25% black and 25% japanese. People perceive them as black, but that is a pretty small portion of their heritage. According to the original one drop rule, they'd solidly be black.

People should be able to self-define.

But let's pretend I check the other box. If the police arrest me, I'll end up being classified as black.

I really feel like there should be an all or nothing principal. Either we track these things the same way across all government agencies or stats or we track nothing (i.e. use the census classifications).

But don't go around tracking only "some" data because of the picture you want to paint.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

You haven't spent much time in Oakland then.

No I haven't.

So what Black district in Oakland is equivalent to the Richmond or Sunset in SF which have a large number of Asians yet are very safe?

[Boompa]

1. So when a Black or Hispanic robs a bank we shouldn't include that in the discription?
2. So Police have to classify people according to who's standards?
This is a nonsense thread

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Boompa

So Police have to classify people according to who's standards?

Good question.

City Hall?

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Boompa

1. So when a Black or Hispanic robs a bank we shouldn't include that in the discription?
2. So Police have to classify people according to who's standards?
This is a nonsense thread

You didn't read the article. Sfpd only has black, white and other for crime reporting statistics. No Hispanic. No asian. No mixed. It makes no sense. Especially based on the city's demographics.

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by john3232

No I haven't.

So what Black district in Oakland is equivalent to the Richmond or Sunset in SF which have a large number of Asians yet are very safe?

I'm assuming you're qualifying "safety" in terms of violent crime... if you're including property crime then the Sunset isn't safe at all.

Neighborhoods like Maxwell Park, Toler Heights, Eastmont Hills, Millsmont, Frick (between 55th and Seminary), Tuxedo, Laurel, Lower Dimond, etc. are all middle class neighborhoods that are either majority black or have a black minority-majority. Oakland also has some upper middle and upper class majority black neighborhoods like Chabot Park, Sequoyah and Oak Knoll and some black minority-majority upper middle and upper class neighborhoods like Leona Heights, the Caballo Hills and Skyline-Hillcrest. There are also many more neighborhoods in the Oakland Hills with significant black populations like Skyline-Hillcrest, Crestmont, Redwood Heights, etc.

Someone who sees the Sunset as "safe" would have no problem living in any of the above unless it's actually the idea of living next to black people that scares them instead of the crime. In fact, the Sunset has markedly more crime than any of the hills neighborhoods I mentioned.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

I'm assuming you're qualifying "safety" in terms of violent crime... if you're including property crime then the Sunset isn't safe at all.

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.

Now while I am sure there are individual neighborhood (with large Black pop) which are safe I am referring to districts.

The Sunset district has over 100,000 residents.

//www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...ncisco-CA.html
Population: 72,295
//www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...ncisco-CA.html
Population: 32,657

The total of the first neighborhoods you mention don't equal 20,000.

Maxwell Park
Population: 6,276

Toler Heights
Population: 3,155

Eastmont Hills
Population: 4,143

Millsmont,
Population: 5,125