| Abstract | Larceny theft is the ?unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another? (FBI, 2018). Crime in San Francisco, specifically larceny theft, has made headlines in both California and the nation. In the past decade, the city has seen more and more businesses leaving the area, the greatest outflow of residents in decades, and a completely changed culture. Despite this, city officials claim that the media has exaggerated this issue of theft in San Francisco. The author gathers and conceptualizes violent and property crime data in recent decades, in both San Francisco and other comparable California cities, to understand the severity of theft in the city, as well as potential factors that may explain these trends (such as changed legislation and changed policing priorities). By examining existing reports and new crime data from the FBI Crime Data Explorer, the author found unique trends in the data. San Francisco is rather nonviolent compared to other cities, but larceny theft provides a completely different pattern in the data. San Francisco larceny rates began its exponential increase in 2011, as clearance rates for these crimes began to decrease. The data provides support for the deterrence theory, used in the authors discussion, calling direct attention to changed policing priorities. Amidst the San Francisco Police Department staffing crisis, statewide legislation changes, and the changing social realities of San Franciscans, the author attempts to put the pieces together, identifying what is truly going on in the city of San Francisco, and what has caused this larceny phenomenon. |
