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Crime Visualization of San Francisco

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Re: Crime Visualization of San Francisco

#51

Post by jberryman »

ericd wrote: post #42
enf wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you seen the one that plots crimes as if they were elevation? http://dougmccune.com/blog/2010/06/05/if-san-francisco-crime...

Very cool. Apparently prostitution is strikingly localized (which makes sense). It also seems that Hunters Point doesn't have much/any crime represented there either, yet it seems like people think of it as a very high crime area. I wonder why.

> ...yet it seems like people think of it as a very high crime area. I wonder why.

from wikipedia:

"Bayview-Hunters Point is predominantly African-American. The neighborhood has a population of 20,322 and is roughly 60% African-American, the highest concentration of that ethnic group in San Francisco."

The article on the community is quite lengthy and interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayview-Hunters_Point,_San_Fran...

I've never lived in San Francisco and don't know whether this community has a bad rep. because it's mostly black or if it really is as crime-ridden as its reputation.

I think we can all agree that this kind of data analysis is really important though, to understand where we live and shape public policy.

Re: Crime Visualization of San Francisco

#52

Post by ww520 »

enf wrote: post #20
pg wrote: post #13

This is very interesting. A friend of mine who lived on Frederick St, just a few blocks up the hill from Haight, said that crime was much lower on her block. Her theory was that bad guys didn't like to climb hills. And in fact there seems to be a correlation between altitude and crime rate. There are probably other reasons too. E.g. that the hills are fancier neighborhoods. But her explanation makes sense. If you're…

Have you seen the one that plots crimes as if they were elevation? http://dougmccune.com/blog/2010/06/05/if-san-francisco-crime...

Those are awesome pictures. It's interesting to see how crimes "fall" downhill from a center.

Re: Crime Visualization of San Francisco

#53

Post by rdl »

iaskwhy wrote: post #43
ericd wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. Maybe crime actually does flow downhill to some extent? It would be interesting to see if there's a correlation between crime rate and relative elevation.

Completely different city but with lots of hills (seven to be precise): Lisbon. The most dangerous areas are near the top of the hills in places like Bairro Alto, Sé, Alfama, while the main bottom of the hill, Baixa, is much better. I believe Lisbon has a very low crime rate (for european standards) and my theory for more crime happening on the higher streets is pretty simple: on the bottom the streets are really big…

In Brazil (and probably elsewhere in South America), real estate values go down (and thus crime goes up) the higher you go on the hills. Basically, this is because walking up and down the hills is arduous and sucks, and thus people try to avoid living on the hills if they possibly can. Thus you end up with favelas.

If everyone had cars, or public transit, you would probably see better property values on hills, like you do in SF.

Re: Crime Visualization of San Francisco

#54

Post by rdl »

chaostheory wrote: post #9

So most of Hunter's Point is crime free? Is this data correct?

Hunter's Point is actually very low population density, especially due to large properties like Hunters Point Naval Station and other industrial sites which are fenced and controlled.

Bayview is higher crime, and shows moderate numbers on most of those maps (for violent crime). Murder isn't on that map. For gun-related crime, it is the top place in San Francisco, which is why the SFPD deployed the "ShotSpotter" system there -- basically a microphone array which can localize gunshots and notify the police.

Re: Crime Visualization of San Francisco

#55

Post by stretchwithme »

that is excellent. There's a 20 block area that is the reddest zone in the city and my guess is that's the Tenderloin.

I wonder what impact an intense cleaning would have on the crime rate there. And enforcement of simple things like public urination laws. And maybe some decent bathrooms.

I recall the kind of things New York did to restore a sense of order. Malcolm Gladwell talked about them in the Tipping Point. Surely similar measures would improve the crime situation in SF.

Re: Crime Visualization of San Francisco

#56

Post by stretchwithme »

jorgeortiz85 wrote: post #22
pg wrote: post #13

This is very interesting. A friend of mine who lived on Frederick St, just a few blocks up the hill from Haight, said that crime was much lower on her block. Her theory was that bad guys didn't like to climb hills. And in fact there seems to be a correlation between altitude and crime rate. There are probably other reasons too. E.g. that the hills are fancier neighborhoods. But her explanation makes sense. If you're…

There's also fewer homeless people the higher the altitude. If you're walking around outside all day, and have no particular place to go, and are possibly pushing around a shopping cart full of stuff, it makes sense that you would tend to gravitate to areas with lower potential energy.

its true. I've never seen a shopping cart on Half Dome.

Re: Crime Visualization of San Francisco

#58

Post by arethuza »

About 10 years ago I had to go to SF for a week at short notice and left the booking of the hotel to our office manager - big mistake.

It was on Geary, and a bit of a dive. First thing that surprised me was when I got into the taxi at the airport and the driver asked "Do you really want to go there?".

Next sign that things were not too good was when the chap at reception said - "Do not walk along Geary to get to Union square, walk two blocks up the hill, along and back down to Union square.

Of course, late one night I decided to walk directly back, after all how can it be (feeling reasonably safe going out in Glasgow - which is practically a war zone late at night). I only did this once - getting a taxi back after that!

Turns out the hotel I was staying in is right in the orange zone there.

Re: Crime Visualization of San Francisco

#59

Post by nailer »

arethuza wrote: post #58

About 10 years ago I had to go to SF for a week at short notice and left the booking of the hotel to our office manager - big mistake. It was on Geary, and a bit of a dive. First thing that surprised me was when I got into the taxi at the airport and the driver asked "Do you really want to go there?". Next sign that things were not too good was when the chap at reception said - "Do not walk along Geary to get to Unio…

I stayed in a Youth Hostel right in Tenderloin. The crack dealers I met were pretty much only interested in you if you were either interested in buying crack, or were obviously scared of them (at which point they'd make fun of you - hey I would too).

The big surprise for me was how dirty downtown San Francisco was compared to LA. I'd never seen someone actually take a dump in the middle of a city sidewalk, or piss a level down into a train station before SF, and I haven't seen it since. My Full House illusions were well and truly shattered.

Re: Crime Visualization of San Francisco

#60

Post by arethuza »

nailer wrote: post #59
arethuza wrote: post #58

About 10 years ago I had to go to SF for a week at short notice and left the booking of the hotel to our office manager - big mistake. It was on Geary, and a bit of a dive. First thing that surprised me was when I got into the taxi at the airport and the driver asked "Do you really want to go there?". Next sign that things were not too good was when the chap at reception said - "Do not walk along Geary to get to Unio…

I stayed in a Youth Hostel right in Tenderloin. The crack dealers I met were pretty much only interested in you if you were either interested in buying crack, or were obviously scared of them (at which point they'd make fun of you - hey I would too). The big surprise for me was how dirty downtown San Francisco was compared to LA. I'd never seen someone actually take a dump in the middle of a city sidewalk, or piss a…

I asked the taxi driver on the way to the airport if things were always like that and he gave an explanation about adjacent police districts taking it in turns to move these folks from one district to another - apparently this had just happened so things were a bit more lively than normal.

I learned the lesson and booked my own hotel the nice time I visited - stayed somewhere very nice right next to Union Square. :-)

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