San Francisco's mayor and police chief are making the case for more police officers to address the city's increase in gun violence and burglaries.
"A lot of these crimes happen overnight," Police Chief William Scott said. " ... That's our lightest deployment. We had to make that adjustment, and we will continue to make that adjustment."
According to statistics the San Francisco Police Department released on Monday, there were 119 gun-violence related deaths through June. There were 58 through June in each of the previous two years.
The department said there were 3,717 burglaries through June, compared to 3,510 last year. Their initial post-lockdown numbers, however, indicated a small decline in such crimes.
Breed said viral videos of crimes don't tell the full story. Perpetrators are being arrested, the mayor said. Breed identified the man suspected of bicycling out of a Mission District Walgreens after stealing from the store as an example.
Scott said the department needs 400 new officers, while Breed said the city has budgeted for an additional 11 positions in the District Attorney's Office.
Other crimes continued to decrease.
Rape cases declined again, down nearly 130% from the middle of 2019. Aggravated assaults showed a modest long-term decrease, while roberries were down for the fourth consecutive year.
So were larceny and theft, while car break-ins continued to decline from 2017's midyear peak.
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