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Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

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Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#321

Post by sebmellen »

galangalalgol wrote: post #290
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Reading this headline I thought to myself, this can't be possible. But then I remembered It's funny, this is exactly what happens when I talk to my SF friends about crime. They have an immediate defensive reaction to insist it's not that bad, but then they slowly start recalling various crime experiences they've had in the past year . It's as if the constant background level of crime has reset their expectations of…

My response was "only half?". Seriously, isn't this true everywhere? I've jad things stolen in small towns and in big cities that are "tough on crime" and have citizens that vote for that. Theft is just part of life right? If I've just lived in bad places, where would one suggest that most people don't experience theft?

FWIW, I never experienced any theft when living in Switzerland, Germany, or Pittsburgh, and only one minor theft while living in San Diego (a nice pair of garden clippers).

Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#322

Post by x86x87 »

pclmulqdq wrote: post #275
x86x87 wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Law enforcement is useless if they pick and choose which laws to enforce. Laws themselves are pointless if they are not enforced (or even worse: selectively enforced)

I'm guessing that if a rich, white or Asian tech worker decided to loot a Walgreens, they would get the book thrown at them. Look at the small business owners in New York who get arrested and charged with everything possible by the DA's office for defending themselves (until public pressure forces them to back down). That's where we are. This is what the people voted for, though.

I mean... Are you saying that there is social inequality?

There is a risk/reward analysis that should go into the decision to loot a Walgreens. If you have nothing to lose or are desperate you're more likely to give 0 fucks and the system just has to deal with you.

Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#323

Post by dleslie »

galangalalgol wrote: post #290
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Reading this headline I thought to myself, this can't be possible. But then I remembered It's funny, this is exactly what happens when I talk to my SF friends about crime. They have an immediate defensive reaction to insist it's not that bad, but then they slowly start recalling various crime experiences they've had in the past year . It's as if the constant background level of crime has reset their expectations of…

My response was "only half?". Seriously, isn't this true everywhere? I've jad things stolen in small towns and in big cities that are "tough on crime" and have citizens that vote for that. Theft is just part of life right? If I've just lived in bad places, where would one suggest that most people don't experience theft?

No, it's not true everywhere. Where I live people don't lock their doors and leave their keys in the ignition. I'm not hyperbolizing, that's the literal truth.

The distinction is that this isn't just a small town, it's a town with a strong community and it's just out of the way enough to be unappealing to transients.

Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#324

Post by bombcar »

closeparen wrote: post #45
typon wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because there are two cities: One of the ultra-rich and one for every one else. If you take your Maserati or Model X from your garage to an underground parking lot with a security guard, you don't care that there are thefts happening on the streets. Similar reasoning applies for every other issue people complain about. Don't like open-air markets for selling stolen goods in the Mission District? Simply don't go there…

SF's whole thing is that not even the mass affluent can avoid the "bad" areas in the way that even the middle class do in most metros. Tons of tech workers live or have offices in SOMA, Mid-Market, FiDi, Mission, etc. where the sidewalk conditions can be astounding.

You just don’t sidewall then. Many people don’t walk and instead drive or Uber everywhere. For them it’s a non-problem.

Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#325

Post by tchaffee »

ratsmack wrote: post #191
andrepd wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That permissive drug enforcement policy increases crime? I never read any study to that effect, much the opposite.

It's pretty well established that addictive drugs cause users to commit petty theft to support their drug habit.

Switzerland had a huge heroin problem. They fixed it by decriminalization and treating it as the medical problem it really is. You can now get the addictive drugs injected at your doctor's office. Both petty theft and addiction plummeted. So it's not the addictive drugs causing these things. It's the policy around drugs that is causing it.

See also how Portugal reduced a widespread heroin and crime problem.

Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#326

Post by jimt1234 »

I was in San Francisco last week for work. A homeless guy show me his d1ck. Another homeless guy in a wheelchair smoked crack in plain view, on the corner of Ellis and Stockton. And finally another homeless guy was screaming at the elderly Chinese ladies doing tai chi in Washington Square Park. This was just a walk from my hotel to Pier 39.

With all that said, San Francisco is a beautiful city.

Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#327

Post by jacobolus »

pclmulqdq wrote: post #275
x86x87 wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Law enforcement is useless if they pick and choose which laws to enforce. Laws themselves are pointless if they are not enforced (or even worse: selectively enforced)

I'm guessing that if a rich, white or Asian tech worker decided to loot a Walgreens, they would get the book thrown at them. Look at the small business owners in New York who get arrested and charged with everything possible by the DA's office for defending themselves (until public pressure forces them to back down). That's where we are. This is what the people voted for, though.

This is total nonsense. Wealthy professionals regularly get away with much more egregious thefts than petty shoplifting, the police do a lot more harassment of poor people than rich people, and lack of response to shoplifting is not about race.

Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#328

Post by derekbaker783 »

birdyrooster wrote: post #257
rrdharan wrote: post #248

Since folks are sharing stories.. I lived in the Mission for about 10 years (2003-2012). My apartment was broken into, my car was broken into multiple times, my roommate was mugged at knifepoint and stabbed (she was fine), my bike was stripped for parts (they stole the handlebars / shifters and seat while it was locked up), and my car was stolen, driven around the neighborhood in broad daylight when I spotted it at 1…

Not sure being stabbed would leave anyone “fine”. The traumatic memories can last for years.

It probably depends.

When I was a (fairly reckless) teenager, I got into a fight and got "stabbed" in my side (minor wound). Honestly, it's not something I consider as traumatic.

It _was_ an effective way to stop the fight though.

Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#329

Post by alex_young »

irrational wrote: post #305
alex_young wrote: post #284

I’ve been burglarized 4 times, in 4 different cities, in 2 US states, and once in Europe. I’ve lived in SF twice and in a few other Bay Area cities, and I honestly can’t tell you that my personal experience with crime in SF is all that different from the norm in most urban areas. There are places I’ve lived which seem devoid of crime, but these places seem to have more community in common than leadership or laws. Alt…

I’m 50 and have lived in 11+ cities over my lifetime. I’ve never been robbed. How is it that one person can get robbed 4 times and another no times? It’s not like I’ve ever lived in a gated community or anything like that.

Random coincidence? Once I was the victim of racism in an odd way - my neighbor actually told me they were sure the people burglarizing my house weren’t doing so because they were white. Pretty ironic.

Re: Nearly Half of San Franciscans Have Been Victims of Theft, New Poll Says

#330

Post by smelendez »

srj wrote: post #122
BoorishBears wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boston has a higher murder rate and overall violent crime rate than San Francisco, as do most large cities. San Francisco's problem is rampant property crime: Property crime is still real crime and harms people mentally... but it also means SF is physically safer than many cities that have less overall crime rates, because of their higher violent crime rates. Since it's often beneficial to an agenda to conflate the t…

Boston's data is probably skewed because unincorporated cities like Cambridge and Brookline aren't included but Mattapan and Roxbury are.

But some of the cities along the northern part of Orange Line might have more crime than West Roxbury, Roslindale, or Beacon Hill. It’s always going to be somewhat arbitrary
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