Watch CBS News

San Francisco Homicides At 50-Year Low

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – An optimistic new report from San Francisco police on the overall violent crime rate shows that homicides in the city are at the lowest level since the 1960's.

"We're seeing a three-year trend of violent crime dropping substantially in San Francisco," said San Francisco Police Deputy Chief of Operations Kevin Cashman.

There were 50 homicides last year, as compared with 98 in 2008. Aggravated assault is down 9 percent, robbery is down 2 percent, rape is down 12 percent and burglary is has been reduced 5 percent from 2010.

KCBS' Susan Kennedy Reports:

Part of the reduction can be attributed to crime reduction strategies implemented by Chief Greg Suhr, along with a better partnership with the community, according to the police report.

"We're seeing more and more people, whether it be the nonprofit sector, or just people involved in the community willing to come forward," said Cashman. "And at if not overtly tell us what happened in a public forum, at least they do it covertly and let us know what direction we may want to investigate."

Of all the crime categories only property crime was up by 3 percent from 2010.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.