San Francisco: Best California City for Criminals

Go us!

This is a year old, but no doubt much of it still holds all too true.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, roughly 4 of every 100 arrests result in prison terms in San Francisco, compared with 12.8 out of 100 in Alameda County, 14.4 of 100 in Sacramento County, 21 of 100 in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, 26.6 of 100 in Fresno County, 38.7 of 100 in Los Angeles County and 41 of 100 in San Diego County."

And when it comes to murder, statistics show that San Francisco prosecutors have had ample opportunities to keep criminals off the streets. The Chronicle reports that fully "83 percent of people identified by police as suspects in San Francisco killings in 2004 and 2005 had criminal records. The identified suspects had an average of 11 arrests apiece."

I can personally vouch for the fact that this is definitely still true:

It is well known that drug dealers commute to San Francisco from Alameda county because they know there is a low likelihood of arrest in San Francisco, much less actual jail time for the crimes if they're caught. Consequently, there seems to be little enforcement of most quality of life crimes in the city. Visitors strolling around the city are more than likely to see open drug use and drug dealing and rampant graffiti vandalism.

Just off the top of my head I can think of about four incidents where the police where around people using drugs openly and did nothing to stop. Once, at Ocean Beach, Mr. Urb and I (and Baby Urblette, too!) noticed two young-looking kids lighting up a joint, totally polluting the air around (personally, I hate the smell of pot, but that's just me). Luckily (or so we thought) a cop was patrolling the walkway on his motorcycle. Guess what happened? Did he arrest them? No. Let them off with a warning? No. He mosied right on past them and the obvious stench of illegal substances and began flirting with a female jogger nearby.
Another time, I saw three of the local bums (one couple, they always panhandle together, and then another bum friend), sitting on a park bench, smoking (that's pot, not tobacco) away their hard-begged money. And the police officer, patrolling the park in close enough range to know what was going on, ignored it.

Here in SF, we're big fans of selective law enforcement. And usually, the people who feel the long arm of the law are the ones who can pay the most - parking tickets, people who leave their garbage containers out. You know, those evil people who dare to be wage-earners. Chances are, if you're homeless or part of a select group of special classes (gay, illegal immigrant, etc), the liberals in San Francisco will be more than happy to overlook your illegal activity.