The Tenderloin district in San Francisco is often in the spotlight due to its high crime rates, particularly concerning drug-related offences and violent crimes. Let’s take a closer look at the data from 2003 to 2017 to understand the patterns and hotspots within this neighbourhood.
The 2023 crime report on San Francisco neighbourhoods indicates that the Tenderloin remains a significant concern regarding drug and violent crimes. There has been a slight decrease in violent crimes, from 24 to 22 incidents per 1,000 people from 2022 to 2023, but the area still experiences high rates. Despite some fluctuations, the Tenderloin continues to be a central hotspot for drug-related offences, mirroring historical trends seen in the earlier data the report suggests the necessity for targeted interventions to mitigate these persistent crime issues in the Tenderloin. Linking this with the historical data highlighted in the articles on this website, it’s clear that the challenges faced by the Tenderloin have been consistent over time. Despite efforts and changes in policy, the patterns of high crime rates, especially in violent and drug-related crimes, have not shifted significantly. This points to a need for a renewed and perhaps innovative approach to law enforcement and community engagement in the district.
The article from the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association highlights a critical view of the strategies previously employed to address the Tenderloin District’s issues. It advocates for a more law-focused approach, saying that policies based on social justice without substantial law enforcement consequences have not been effective. Suggested strategies include targeted law enforcement, incarceration-based rehabilitation, a zero-tolerance policy for drug activities, community engagement, and transparent spending of public funds.
In connecting this to the historical crime data and the 2023 crime report, it’s apparent there is a conversation regarding the balance between social justice-oriented policies and more traditional law enforcement approaches. Despite changes over the years, the persistently high rates of drug and violent crimes in the Tenderloin suggest a need for a reassessment of strategies, possibly aligning with the tougher stance recommended by the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association.
To analyze the crimes an open source dataset containing incident reports in San Francisco from 2003 to May 2018 was used https://datasf.org/opendata/. The dataset contains different types of crimes. In parts of this project, we will investigate specific focus groups containing: Robbery, Assault, Sex offences, Forcible, Kidnapping, Vehicle Theft, Arson, Burglary, Larceny/Theft, Vandalism and Stolen Property.
Distribution of violent and property crimes
Below you can see a heatmap of all the incidents in the Tenderloin district. The heatmap shows that crime happens all over the district and the same with the distribution of hotspots. It is hard to pinpoint where it would be safe to stay which is also something the inhabitants feel. According to the short article “SF’s troubled Turk Street: City throws in towel” by C.W.Nevius article the people that live there fear for their life and are even scared to go outside. Furthermore, the article describes that one area in the Tenderloin district is far worse than in any other area. This area is the first block on Turk Street which is indicated on the heatmap with a marker. The heatmap shows that that there is a hotspot in the area and according to the article violent crime at this spot is 35 times higher than in any other place in the city and 8 times higher than in any other place in the Tenderloin district.
Violent crimes in Tenderloin district
The focus groups were separated into two categories; Violent Crimes and Property crimes. Where Violent crimes include; Robbery, Assault, Sex offenses, Forcible, Kidnapping and Property crimes include; Vehicle Theft, Arson, Burglary, Larceny/Theft, Vandalism and Stolen Property. Below is a bar chart of violent and property crimes over the years in the Tenderloin district. The chart shows that during the years 2013-2015, both violent- and property crimes were at its peak. However, after these years the crimes seem to decrease. But without further investigation and the upcoming incident reports for the following years it is hard to say if this tendency is continuing.
The proportion of drug crimes the highest in Tenderloin
To show which crimes are most common in the Tenderloin district in comparison to other districts let’s look at the stacked bar chart with the proportion of different types of crimes across San Francisco police districts. For the Tenderloin district, we see a substantial proportion of drug and narcotic-related crimes, which is consistent with the area’s reputation, as well as drunkness and assault.