City officials say crime was down, foot traffic up at SF Union Square over the holidays
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco is touting new data showing that crime was down over the holiday season. The city says there's still a long way to go, but they say there's a lot to celebrate here. Crime was down and foot traffic in Union Square was up.
After holidays past with bad headlines and viral moments, San Francisco is announcing decreasing crime and increasing foot traffic in the city's Union Square area. The city says between the end of November and January 1, it saw a 48% decrease in retail theft and auto burglaries. A 17% decrease in auto thefts, and a 26% reduction in burglaries.
The police department says a combination of factors helped move those numbers, including bait cars and more than 40 blitz operations with undercover officers busting more than 300 shoplifters. The department says it's working with the district attorney's office to keep suspects in custody.
"When we see those individuals detained and in custody the numbers go down," said Assistant Chief David Lazar from San Francisco's Police Department. "Just a no brainer, someone is in custody the numbers drop."
The department says the key now is maintaining that momentum. Police say more than $15 million in state funding will go to pay for overtime and for new technology. "We're going to get hundreds of license plate readers and cameras put up in San Francisco, so we can detect individuals involved in organized retail theft, making sure that we're tracking the vehicles and license plates," said Assistant Chief Lazar.
The city says Union Square, one of the city's premier shopping destinations, saw a more than 50% increase in visitors using public transit to visit the area; and an overall increase of 11% in visitors to Union Square Park.
Marisa Rodriguez from the Union Square Alliance says the difference was noticeable. "You've got coordination from the DA's office, San Francisco Police and the mayor's office, and really, we feel it here," said Rodriguez. "We just came off of an incredible holiday season."
San Francisco's mayor says the crime and visitor numbers are encouraging, but that the city has to keep pushing on these issues, and writing its own story to combat years of bad press. "So our hope is that we can continue the work that we're doing and not let up on public safety," said Mayor London Breed. "We will have to compromise and make cuts in other areas of our city, but we cannot lose the momentum that we have to increase public safety."
City leaders, police in particular, wanted to point out that while Union Square gets a lot of attention, they're seeing a drop in theft and auto burglaries all over, and have been running those bait car and undercover blitzes in shopping districts throughout the city.
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