Tourism in San Francisco still hasn’t fully recovered since the onset of the pandemic more than five years ago, but declining crime rates could help revitalize the city’s image and welcome back the millions of visitors who have yet to return to the city since the spread of COVID-19.
A review of San Francisco police records by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit shows the most serious and prevalent crimes across the city are all down by double digits compared to last year, that includes homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, car theft, and car break-ins.
San Francisco crime rates during the first 10 months of this year have declined significantly compared to the same time period last, according to data from the San Francisco Police Dept.
“We are at historic lows in multiple of these categories,” said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. “We can have compassionate values, but we cannot subvert the fundamental things people deserve like … living in their homes free from attack, victimization, and crime.”
Mayor Lurie recently described the city’s declining crime rates as the “lowest…in decades,” adding that car break-ins are at 22-year lows, and homicides at 70-year lows.
Jenkins credits the crime reduction to a stronger police presence across the city and her office’s commitment to successfully pursue criminal cases.
“We have been able to prosecute more effectively – the people who are doing the most damage in our city, prolific and chronic offenders and keep many of them in custody, which disables them from breaking into 20 cars per day around our city.”
It was just a few years ago when the Investigative Unit reported on San Francisco’s all-time highs for car break-ins, that totaled more than 70 per day – roughly triple the rate of other major cities, including Houston and Los Angeles.
Today, the city averages closer to 15 car break-ins per day, with 4,549 smash-and grabs reported in the first 10 months of this year, according to San Francisco police.
“You definitely have to be cognizant of it,” said Cole Bernabei, who lives in the city’s Marina neighborhood, which has historically had some of the most car break-ins in the city. “We don’t have a specific parking garage in the city, so we park on the street and before we go home for the night we try to clear out our car as best we can.”
Bernabei lives within San Francisco’s Northern Police District, which remains the epicenter for car break-ins in the city.
“We’ve seen on our block shattered glass and a lot of windows that have been broken into,” he said. “It’s definitely always on the back of my mind.”
The city’s Northern Police District reported 868 car break-ins from January to October of this year, while 1,530 incidents were reported during the same 10-month period last year – reflecting a 43% decline.
“In no way do we believe that this data says that our work is done,” Jenkins said. “We know there are still many communities that are struggling — the foot is still on the gas.”
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