I recently called 311 to report my stolen bicycle, which made me curious about what other crimes people were calling to report. I figured another city department might be more forthcoming and trustworthy than the police when it came to reporting information on crime calls. Well, I can't vouch for how reliable or complete it is, but they sent me a brief summary of reporting statistics from August 2008 through roughly the end of last month (see chart below), and here's what it showed:
• Zero calls about drug use or sales -- near schools, bus stops, children, or otherwise.
• Zero calls about people drinking or intoxicated in public.
• Zero calls about prostitution.
• Zero calls about people sitting or lying on the sidewalk or loitering.
• Zero calls about people skateboarding, skating, or riding bicycles, on the sidewalk or otherwise.
• Zero calls about public nudity or "indecent exposure".
• Zero calls about people carrying guns or other weapons.
• Zero calls about people engaging in unlicensed selling or other unlicensed activity.
• Zero calls about off-leash dogs.
• Zero calls about clubs or stores serving minors or selling alcohol or tobacco to minors.
• Zero calls about businesses violating their permit conditions.
• Zero calls about people violating the terms of their probation (at least not as such).
• Zero calls about Occupy protesters or other protests or demonstrations.
But thousands of calls about burglary, theft, vandalism, and lost property. Maybe that's what the SFPD ought to focus on! (Along with more serious crimes like murder and assault, which people presumably called 911 to report rather than 311.)
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
noon8window.pdf (36 Bytes)