It is currently 9:51, 52° headed towards 68° with mostly sunny skies today. Great day to go to the park.
The Bay Area has seen a dramatic decline in violent crime, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, for example, averaged 94 homicides from 2004-2008. Those numbers have since declined:
2009: 48
2010:49
2011:50
The Mission has also seen a decline in homicides, according to compstat police data.
2008: 18
2009: 4
2010: 6
2011: 6
The Mission so far has seen three homicides this year.
Gregg Ogelsby, a police detective in Daly City, singled out the effort in recent years to bring federal racketeering cases against gang members, which can put them in prison for years even if they don’t personally take part in a killing or assault. The cases have weakened MS-13, a gang that plagues San Francisco’s Mission District.
The federal prosecutions “can wipe out entire groups of violent offenders,” Oglesby said.
The San Francisco Examiner talked to the Mission Neighborhood Health Center about the cultural AIDS stigma.
Michaela Hoffman, director of HIV services at the Mission Neighborhood Health Center, said some of the biggest obstacles to treating a minority population are the cultural barriers and stigma associated with AIDS. The clinic’s staff members, she said, do their best to support these men when they come in for tests.
“Education and the socio-economic status have a lot to do with the stigma,” Hoffman said. “But when our patients come in even to get tested, they’ve crossed a lot of those barriers.”
Enjoy this beautiful day!
