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San Francisco witnessed the lowest rate of homicides in about 50 years, while other violent crimes continue to fall in the city, authorities said Tuesday.
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) released year-end statistics for 2019, indicating violent and property crimes had dropped by 4 percent and 6 percent respectively.
Those crimes included robberies, assaults and sexual assaults, with rapes down by 15 percent and sex trafficking by 57 percent.
A total of 41 homicides were reported last year in the city, according to the SFPD report.
"The fact is this is the lowest number of homicides that we've seen since 1961," Mayor London Breed told a press conference along with SFPD Chief William Scott.
Breed commended SFPD officers for their work to ensure safety and security of San Francisco residents and communities.
Scott said the city's law enforcement agencies have placed top priority on combating car break-ins, and will continue to do so, though vehicle burglaries, the most complained-about offense by San Franciscans in recent years, decreased by 2 percent in 2019.
Many locals blamed the staggering number of car break-ins to a 2014 ballot measure that reduced low-level offenses, including thefts with property value below 950 U.S. dollars felony to misdemeanors.
The measure sponsored by former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon was intended to cut prison population of the California state.
Under the law, shoplifters and addicts who commit crimes will no longer be booked into prison as long as the merchandise they steal or the drugs they take are less than 950 dollars in value.
