California Dreamin' No More? Crime Surge Wrecks San Francisco's Quality of Life, Fuelling Exodus

The past few years have seen San Francisco being hit by a rise in robbery, larceny theft, assaults and rapes.

California's population fell by more than half a million in the two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, due to rising housing costs and crime-infested big cities, including San Francisco and Sacramento, according to the US Census on migration and police data.

The data indicated that between April 2020 and July 2022, the number of those leaving California surpassed the number of people moving in by more than 700,000 and stands at 508,000.

Rectangles are painted on the ground to encourage homeless people to keep social distancing at a city-sanctioned homeless encampment across from City Hall in San Francisco, California, on May 22, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

© AFP 2023 / JOSH EDELSON

San Francisco and Lassen counties saw the largest population declines, at 7.1% and 7.5% respectively.

A US newspaper cited Patrick Carlisle, Compass’ chief market analyst, as saying that “San Francisco went from being one of the hottest office markets in the country to one of the weakest.”

The surge in homelessness and crime has affected the “quality of life ambiance” the downtown once offered, Carlisle added.

The city has turned into a crime haven, “where slash-and-grab thieves would break into stores and steal items in broad daylight and homeless people are seen doing drugs right on the streets.”

San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), in turn, referred to an increase in such crimes as assaults, robbery, larceny theft, and rapes between 2021 and 2022. According to the SFPD, total crimes have increased by 3.9% over the past few years.

The same goes for Sacramento, where the streets have become increasingly dangerous, “with many locals avoiding downtown sidewalks for fear of a violent encounter with one of the many vagrants and drug abusers who've taken over,” according to reports.