June 7, 2011 | 4:13 PM | By

SFPD reports yearly increase in murders, shootings

FILED UNDER: Police, CompStat, San Francisco, San Francisco Police Department

San Francisco Police Department

After a record low in violent crime in 2009, San Francisco is beginning to see an increase in murders and shootings. According to the San Francisco Police Department’s latest statistics, 24 people have been killed in San Francisco so far this year, as compared to 21 in 2010 and 19 in 2009.

On the positive side, SFPD have arrested 14 homicide suspects in 2011, up from 8 last year.

San Francisco is not the only Bay Area city struggling with violence. Oakland and San Jose have also seen their murder rates rise: Oakland has had 45 homicides this year so far, compared to 34 at this point in 2010, while San Jose’s 24 murders this year have already surpassed the city’s 20 killings in all of 2010.

Shootings are also on the rise in San Francisco. Strangely, while the reported incidents of shots fired this year has decreased from 169 in 2010 to 128 this year, more people have fallen victim to gunfire. 97 people have been wounded or killed by firearms so far this year, up from 89 in 2010.

Murders and shootings aside, SFPD’s statistics show gains on other categories of violent crime, which is down 10% across the city. There have been 1,367 aggravated assaults this year, 190 fewer incidents than this time in 2010. Robberies are down to 1,342 this year compared to 1,447 in 2010: however, they still pose headaches for district captains in the Southern, Central and Tenderloin precincts.

SFPD’s command staff will discuss the latest crime trends and statistics at the department’s bi-monthly Compstat meeting at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center at 2850 19th Avenue in Western Portal.