Property crimes soaring in S.F.
Auto break-ins way up, while violent incidents show only slight increase
Property crimes in San Francisco spiked to an unprecedented level last year due to a wave of auto break-ins, while the frequency of violent episodes in the city had a far more modest uptick, according to new numbers released this week by police.
The San Francisco Police Department on Thursday published its year-end crime statistics, which show the number of property crimes reported in the city increased 14.69 percent from 2016 to 2017.
However, the numbers rose at an even sharper clip — 24.95 percent — when looking at just thefts from vehicles. There were 25,067 such crimes in 2016, but that number climbed to a record 31,322 last year.
Officer Robert Rueca, a spokesman for the Police Department, called the jump in car break-ins a statewide problem that has been a point of emphasis as offenders become more brazen.
“San Francisco is not an island as much as everyone seems to focus on this city,” he said, noting that other local jurisdictions were also seeing increases. In particular, Rueca pointed to increased crime in the East Bay.
“Nobody’s saying, ‘Well, Oakland has a problem, too. Berkeley has a problem too,’ ” he said.
Oakland had a 32 percent jump in auto break-ins between 2016 and 2017, according
to numbers released by the city in January. Berkeley’s crime statistics were not immediately available.
Most violent crimes — such as rape, robbery and aggravated assault — increased by mostly modest amounts in 2017, while homicides in the city fell to 56 last year, a 3.45 percent decline from 2016.
In a statement, Police Chief Bill Scott said reducing violent crime “will always be our top priority. We’re working closely with community members and our city partners to reduce gun related violence.”
Instances of rape rose the most of any violent crime in San Francisco, increasing by 7.31 percent year over year.
Rueca suggested that the #MeToo movement, which began in October on the heels of the Hollywood sex-assault scandal involving producer Harvey Weinstein, might have contributed to the increased reporting of rape and sex assaults. The movement of women telling their stories in public forms “brought positive energy to rape victims who may feel like they are able to report more,” Rueca said.
The department did not provide any statistics on whether the reporting of such crimes increased at the tail end of the year, but the department has actively “worked to remove the stigma of reporting such incidents,” he said.
Overall, reports of crime in the city increased just slightly — 1.54 percent — when excluding the 6,255 additional auto break-ins seen in 2017. Part of the department’s focus, Rueca said, has been to single out offenders who are carrying out a disproportionate number of those crimes.
“If you have 10,000 incidents, the data shows you don’t necessarily have 10,000 suspects — even though each incident has a suspect,” he said.
Rueca also noted that the department is working “to create more robust investigative units in regards to violent crimes, in regards to burglaries, and larcenies, and other crimes.”
To help carry out this mission, the department noted in a statement, uniformed foot patrols have been doubled citywide.