While San Francisco rejoices in a citywide downturn in criminal activities, SoMa and Mission Bay stand out with an unwanted uptick in property crimes. According to a San Francisco Chronicle analysis, these neighborhoods have not kept pace with the otherwise encouraging crime trends across the city. Specifically, the two neighborhoods in the San Francisco Police Department's Southern District reported a 29% increase in SoMa and a 52% jump in Mission Bay in property crimes, compared to the same time last year.
The San Francisco Standard notes a striking 92% surge in larceny-theft reports in the Southern District, particularly affecting retailers such as Whole Foods, Safeway, Walgreens, and local shopping malls. The SF Standard cited incidents where serial shoplifters are brazen, with one security guard recounting weekly thefts of coffee bags by "the Peet's Guy." Similarly, at Target's Metreon location, workers encounter attempts at shoplifting daily, with items ranging from wet wipes to vacuum cleaners targeted by thieves.
The issue is complex, and Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents the affected areas, told the Chronicle that pinpointing the exact reasons for fluctuations in crime rates can be speculative. However, Dorsey mentioned that a crackdown on areas like the Tenderloin might have inadvertently shuffled "the street-level bad activity" into SoMa, per the San Francisco Chronicle. For instance, the surge at the intersection of Fourth and Mission, where Target has reported a spike in shoplifting incidents from 18 to 83 this year, demonstrates the local impact of such trends.
The San Francisco Police Department, through Public Information Officer Paulina Henderson, emphasized their vigilance, stating, as per the San Francisco Chronicle, "SOMA is currently an area where SFPD is devoting resources to combat larceny and other crimes targeting our businesses." Henderson, reinforced the department's commitment in a statement by urging the community to report all incidents to help better allocate resources and assistance.
