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Recent Shootings Draw Attention to Crime in our Neighborhoods 

By: Jason Vincent (SDMW Staff Writer) 

Shootings. That word grabs your attention like grandma grabbing your ear when you were a kid. Why? Because its noir sexy. It sucks you in so much more than, robbery, assault, prostitution, and other such miscreant behavior. Shootings make us all stand up and pay attention. Lately, our neighborhoods have been plagued with an upsurge in violent crimes, a fatal stabbing and assault in Hillcrest, all on the same day, an armed home invasion of a man in a wheelchair in North Park. But, it’s the shootings seemingly everywhere on a daily basis that really gets people going.  

“I’m scared, my kid is going to be out on the sidewalk and get hit by a stray bullet.” Says Emma, a twenty-nine year old nurse, and mother of two who lives in City Heights. “I hear shots all the time, but unless there is a bleeding body on the street, I don’t see any police cars.” Emma believes a lot of the shooting goes unreported and the reason may be that citizens are afraid of retribution from the shooters. Her male friend, who does not want to be named, says other criminal activity bothers him as well. He notes the graffiti right outside his window in North Park, where he lives with his small child. “I see prostitutes all over the place, my friend’s car got broken into the other day on 6th Street in the Gaslamp, in the middle of the day! I get frustrated because it seems just two or three years ago, I felt safe, and moved here because I thought it was a good place to raise my kid. Now he has to see all of this.”    

Third District Council hopeful Todd Gloria’s thoughts on the situation reflect those of Emma’s friend and he believes part of the solution would be to; “reestablish police storefronts in each neighborhood to create a greater presence in and improved relations with
the community.” He also believes the City needs to place more Police Officers in high crime areas, and the current vacancies in police positions need to be filled as soon as possible.   

National experts say San Diego is no different than any other big American city and that crime increases due to reasons such as; summertime breeds more criminal activity, criminal activity increases during bad economic times when people become more desperate, and for the same economic reasons, police departments are forced to cut back on personnel until the economy gets back on track. Sounds pretty bleak, doesn’t it? There are some very simple things we all can do to decrease our chances of being a victim. Lt. Steve Shakowski, Public Information Officer of the El Cajon Police Department reminds all to; lock your doors, close your windows, maintain a heightened awareness of your surroundings, and refrain from exposing yourself to criminal activity. He also assures that Police Departments will continue to vehemently enforce the law, and educate the public on awareness.