Crime fell 10 percent in San Francisco, but gun violence surged

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Serious crimes fell 10 percent in San Francisco last year as the city saw fewer robberies, far fewer boosted cars and a slight but welcome reduction in the vehicle break-ins that have plagued many neighborhoods, according to police figures released Tuesday.

“It’s definitely a positive when we see the numbers decrease,” said Officer Giselle Talkoff, a Police Department spokeswoman. “Part of it is due to the diligence of the officers out there, monitoring and being proactive in our high-crime areas, having a large presence, and taking fast action in making arrests.”

The year-to-year reductions come as new Police Chief Bill Scott takes command and seeks to reassure members of the public frustrated by rising crime that has struck residents, workers and tourists alike. The index of eight serious crimes measured by the Police Department — including homicides, assaults, robberies and burglaries — hit a recent high in 2015 of 60,068 incidents.

While last year’s tally of 53,898 incidents was a clear improvement, it was still 29 percent higher than the total in 2011.

Violent crimes decreased 8 percent last year, with drops seen in robberies, assaults, rapes and cases of human trafficking when compared with 2015. Homicides, though, jumped from 53 to 58, mirroring a Bay Area and national trend but still reflecting a far lower level of violence than that seen in past decades.

Property crimes fell 11 percent in San Francisco, from 53,291 reported cases in 2015 to 47,658 in 2016. Reported offenses decreased in every category — burglaries, thefts, stolen vehicles and arson cases.

While vehicle break-ins were down, they remained at extremely high levels. After they skyrocketed 31 percent from 2014 to 2015, police recorded 24,235 incidents in 2016, a 6 percent drop year-to-year.

However, some neighborhood groups have linked the drop in property crimes to city residents growing so hardened to burglaries — and seeing sidewalks covered in broken glass — that they’ve stopped reporting every car break-in.

But in August 2015, police deployed a plainclothes task force specializing in curbing property crimes. As arrests were made, officials said, they saw a decrease in reports almost instantly.

If the crime stats were positive overall, they also revealed a surge in gun violence last year.

The 40 gun killings were a jump of 15 percent, while the 189 people who survived bullet wounds represented an increase of 27 percent, reaching a level not seen it at least six years. Authorities seized 1,216 firearms last year, up 12 percent from 2015 and 40 percent from 2011.

Talkoff said the gun violence last year was alarming to the Police Department, and that the way to fight it is “making quick arrests.” Referring to guns, she said, “We are always working to get more of them off the streets to keep the public safe.”

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo