San Francisco crime-watch group uneasy despite arrest in Lee murder case
SAN FRANCISCO -- On Thursday, San Franciscans concerned about crime met to review the work of the group Stop Crime SF which is studying how courts are responding to cases. The organization's members remain concerned about public safety in the city and are tracking charges pursued by prosecutors and rulings by judges.
The brutal murder of technology executive Bob Lee in the city's Rincon Hill neighborhood was top of mind.
"This is not indicative of what San Francisco is all about," said Ed Fisch, who attended the meeting with his wife. "It seems like nothing of consequence is being done about it."
His wife Susan agreed with him that Lee's murder received too much attention around the world and the narrative some tried to spin about safety in San Francisco was not fair. However, she and her husband say they do not feel safe at times.
"I'm also tired of all the headlines and this got a lot of publicity. There are many other cases that don't get the publicity they actually should," Mrs. Fisch told KPIX. "I'm hoping that we can move onto the problems that people like us are talking about."
The couple volunteers for Stop Crime SF, where members serve as court reporters and attend proceedings in the city to keep track of as many cases as they can. The data are collected by the group to chart the direction prosecutors and judges are taking on cases, including less violent crime. Fisch acknowledged that violent crime is not up in the city but that doesn't help them in their daily lives enjoy simple activities in certain neighborhoods.
"Public perception is really important and you can give us facts all day long but if people don't feel safe walking down the street because there's garbage everywhere, if they have to cross the street like we do to get away from the tents..." Mrs. Fisch said.
That impact on their lives is part of why they got involved with the group. Stop Crime SF and its supporters say it's not enough to call on better policing and prosecution. There needs to be scrutiny on the courts as well.
"There's areas in this city that I won't go to and I spent my life going everywhere in this city," said Richard Corriea, who is on the board of Stop Crime SF. "The fact that this particular killing was not a random act on the street shouldn't give us a great deal of peace that San Francisco is any safer."
Corriea is a retired San Francisco police commander who worked for 35 years at the department. He agrees that the perception of crime in the city needs to be taken into account, acknowledging the data show violent crime is not any higher this year.
"We need to focus on the crimes residents are experiencing every day. They've been dealing with a lot in recent years so I understand why residents are frustrated and why patience is wearing thin," said Supervisor Joel Engardio, who spoke at the meeting. He was previously the executive director of Stop Crime SF.
Engardio acknowledged that the murder rate is a third of what it was in the 1970s but he also said that doesn't give residents much comfort. He did say the arrest of a suspect in the Lee case was an example of the police department doing their job despite the shortage of officers.
The Fisch family thinks safety should not be dependent on where you live or where in the city you choose to spend your free time. They hope the focus can move away from one notorious case and back to what they believe is the less exciting but equally important work of studying why people don't feel safe.
"We have much bigger problems and we need to address that and we don't think the courts are doing that," Mrs. Fisch said.