Steve Smith
Blog
Gun Violence Increases in California
The May 15th shooting at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Hills, where six people were shot and one tragically died, is yet another reminder that California is experiencing an increase in homicides not seen since 1960. Statewide, homicides were up 30 percent in 2020 and, while 2021 crime statistics ...
Steve Smith
May 20, 2022
Blog
National Crime Victims Week 2022
For over 40 years America has recognized the last week of April as National Crime Victims Week. California honors Crime Victims Week in a variety of ways at the State and Local level. This year, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation adopted a theme of “Rights, Access and Equity” ...
Steve Smith
April 28, 2022
Blog
How Public Safety Policy Mistakes Are Contributing to California’s Unsafe Streets
Last Sunday was a bloody one in Northern California. In the early morning hours on Sunday April 3rd, as people were leaving a night club in downtown Sacramento, automatic weapons fire rang out sending people fleeing. When the victims were counted, 18 people were shot and six were dead. Later ...
Steve Smith
April 6, 2022
Agriculture
The Judge – Justice and Compassion in the Salinas Valley
In 1775-1776 the de Anza Expedition traveled from Sinaloa to San Francisco establishing the inland route from Mission San Gabriel to San Francisco. On their way north they camped in Natividad – now Salinas – along what is today Old Stage Road on their way to the site of Mission ...
Steve Smith
March 24, 2022
Blog
The Very Thin Blue Line – Police staffing is down, and homicides are up
In Oakland in 2021, 133 people were killed and another 537 were shot, making Oakland one of California’s most dangerous cities. To put the numbers in perspective, more Oakland residents were killed per capita than the entire fatal casualties experienced by the US Armed Forces in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. ...
Steve Smith
March 3, 2022
Blog
Mainstream Media Fuels False Narrative that SFPD Engages in Bad Conduct
Recently the San Francisco Chronicle again took aim at the SF Police Department accusing them of a litany of inaction, slow response times, and failure to investigate crimes concluding in a recent article: “What is the Police Department doing? Too often, the answer is not much”. Some answers to their ...
Steve Smith
February 23, 2022
Blog
What Crime Reports and Rates Don’t Tell Us
Last week the San Francisco Police Department issued its crime statistics report for 2021 also known as COMPSTAT. Modeled on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and divided into two parts graded by seriousness they give us a picture of reported crime in the City of San Francisco. Unlike the ...
Steve Smith
February 1, 2022
Blog
Crime Victims Not Persuaded All’s Well in San Francisco
In a recent article – “We fact checked the most common claims about San Francisco crime”, the San Francisco Chronicle outrageously attempted to defend the state of crime in San Francisco as well as the recall facing District Attorney Chesa Boudin. The Chronicle may feel that while crime is up, ...
Steve Smith
January 21, 2022
Gun Violence Increases in California
The May 15th shooting at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Hills, where six people were shot and one tragically died, is yet another reminder that California is experiencing an increase in homicides not seen since 1960. Statewide, homicides were up 30 percent in 2020 and, while 2021 crime statistics ...
National Crime Victims Week 2022
For over 40 years America has recognized the last week of April as National Crime Victims Week. California honors Crime Victims Week in a variety of ways at the State and Local level. This year, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation adopted a theme of “Rights, Access and Equity” ...
How Public Safety Policy Mistakes Are Contributing to California’s Unsafe Streets
Last Sunday was a bloody one in Northern California. In the early morning hours on Sunday April 3rd, as people were leaving a night club in downtown Sacramento, automatic weapons fire rang out sending people fleeing. When the victims were counted, 18 people were shot and six were dead. Later ...
The Judge – Justice and Compassion in the Salinas Valley
In 1775-1776 the de Anza Expedition traveled from Sinaloa to San Francisco establishing the inland route from Mission San Gabriel to San Francisco. On their way north they camped in Natividad – now Salinas – along what is today Old Stage Road on their way to the site of Mission ...
The Very Thin Blue Line – Police staffing is down, and homicides are up
In Oakland in 2021, 133 people were killed and another 537 were shot, making Oakland one of California’s most dangerous cities. To put the numbers in perspective, more Oakland residents were killed per capita than the entire fatal casualties experienced by the US Armed Forces in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. ...
Mainstream Media Fuels False Narrative that SFPD Engages in Bad Conduct
Recently the San Francisco Chronicle again took aim at the SF Police Department accusing them of a litany of inaction, slow response times, and failure to investigate crimes concluding in a recent article: “What is the Police Department doing? Too often, the answer is not much”. Some answers to their ...
What Crime Reports and Rates Don’t Tell Us
Last week the San Francisco Police Department issued its crime statistics report for 2021 also known as COMPSTAT. Modeled on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and divided into two parts graded by seriousness they give us a picture of reported crime in the City of San Francisco. Unlike the ...
Crime Victims Not Persuaded All’s Well in San Francisco
In a recent article – “We fact checked the most common claims about San Francisco crime”, the San Francisco Chronicle outrageously attempted to defend the state of crime in San Francisco as well as the recall facing District Attorney Chesa Boudin. The Chronicle may feel that while crime is up, ...