Introduction
Crime is essentially a part of the social spectrum in several urban conglomerations, as in the case of the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA). Cities within the SFBA treat crime as a major deterrent to their goals to instill social order, given the need to preserve the safety of their urban populations to stabilize their economic activities, which are focused mostly on services and commerce. However, recent trends show that crime in the SFBA remains a critical problem and are aggravated with the social effects of the great recession of 2008 and racial profiling, among many others. This essay seeks to expound more on the subject matter through a concise review of two relevant news articles from SFGate.
Trends on Crime in the SFBA
San Francisco, one of the major cities of the SFBA, has exhibited a sharp decrease in homicides in 2012 (Bulwa). Homicide rates, as with that of other crimes, are traditionally correlated with economic decline, as it is pointed to urge people to resort to criminal activities for survival. Yet, a different trend emerged in San Francisco emerged, with economic decline still involved as an influential factor. Economic decline, in the case of San Francisco, urged its residents to become more vigilant against crime, given their knowledge of the correlation. Increased vigilance led residents of San Francisco to improve their relations with police officials through constant reporting of crimes and other notorious activities that may lead to criminal acts. However, said trend in San Francisco did not reflect in other cities within the SFBA. Nevertheless, the provided analysis is expected to spread to other cities within the SFBA in time, particularly in the homicide-ridden neighbor of San Francisco, Oakland, which posted the highest number of homicides in 2012 (Bulwa).
The focus on Oakland as a crime-ridden area within the SFBA has led to insinuations that race may be an indispensable factor. In fact, the practice of racial profiling against African-Americans, which are statistically involved in most crimes in Oakland, within the police force of the city have been all but formally recognized, if not for the politically sensitive issue of the subject matter (Johnson). Nevertheless, it has been made clear that crime in Oakland is more than just a matter of racial profiling, even though data has consistently reflected that most of the criminal offenders in the city are African-Americans. Presenting data on criminal offenses to the public has stood as a key issue in Oakland, as such may lead to unjust insinuations that discriminating African-Americans through racial profiling in crimes is a proper action the police force of the city must conduct. Thus, resolving crime in Oakland have since tried to rely on alternative practices that veer away from racial profiling, particularly in the form of community-building measures (Johnson).
Conclusion
The movement of crime in the SFBA relies on a series of social trends affected by economic and social factors. In San Francisco, a greater sense of community and stronger relations with the police force of the city point to the decrease of homicide rates amidst economic decline due to the great recession of 2008, with the same trend seen to replicate in other cities within the SFBA in due time. Racial profiling in Oakland is also seen as an improper way to solve staggering crime rates in the city, despite the fact that most of the recorded criminals in the city are African-Americans. Alternative ways of fighting crime in Oakland centered on community building are seen as more viable than resorting to racial profiling, which is politically sensitive. Approaching the issue of crime in the SFBA, as seen in the foregoing, thus requires a deeper analysis of economic and social factors that urge people to resort to criminal activities.
Works Cited
Bulwa, Demian. "Through Hard Times, S.F. Killings at Historic Lows." SFGate. Hearst Newspapers, 5 Jan. 2012. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.
Johnson, Chip. "Oakland Crime Issue Goes Far Deeper Than Racial Profiling." SFGate. Hearst Newspapers, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.
