New York Crime

Is William Bratton Getting Too Much Credit for the Crime Reductions He Oversaw?

There was controversy when Oakland announced that it would hire William Bratton -- former police chief in Boston, New York City, and Los Angeles -- to help improve the city's police department. For the most part, the controversy took two forms. Firstly, there was the issue that cash-strapped Oakla ... More >>

SF's Proposed Ban on Hollow-point Bullets Is a Turning Point for U.S. Gun Culture

Hollow-point bullets have a pit at the tip, which makes them look a bit like tiny steel smokestacks. When the bullet hits a target, pressure builds within the pit and pushes outward against lead walls, causing the bullet's surface area to expand and leave a greater trail of damage within the target. ... More >>

Barred from Freedom: How Pretrial Detention Ruins Lives

Crip-less: S.F.'s Dislike of Franchises Extends to Street Gangs

SF Weekly Letters

Menace to Society: Why Many Young Black Men are Accused of Being in Gangs

Construction Site of New Condos Catches Fire

A construction site went up in flames early Saturday morning in the city's Hunters Point neighborhood in what appears to be a very suspicious fire.Press reports say the blaze started at 4 a.m. at West Point and Middle Point roads, and firefighters had the fire under control by 5:30 a.m. According to ... More >>

Obama Explains Medical Marijuana Crackdown -- Sort Of

Mystery accompanied the federal Justice Department's crackdown on California's state-legal medical marijuana industry since Oct. 7, when prosecutors formally declared their war on weed. Who was behind the feds deciding it was time to shut down hundreds of California dispensaries -- rogue prosecutors ... More >>

The Columbine Effect: Why Hollywood Is Keeping the Story Alive

Hate Mail: A Mailman's Revenge Shows Workers Still "Go Postal"

"Man on a Ledge": Wrong-Man Thriller Goes Thud

Wives' Tales: Women Beat Holy Hell Out of Race, Gender Issues on VH1 Reality Shows

Both black and white women brawl on Vh1 reality programming but some don't have to deal with the burden of (mis)representing their culture.

Tainted Saint: Mother Teresa Defended Pedophile Priest

The Boy Scouts' Police Problem: Explorers Have Been Sexually Abused by Cops. Should Scouts Share the Blame?

Report: Misdemeanor Marijuana Arrests Skyrocketing in California

Doubling Up​It's a fine time to be a criminal in California. Arrests in every category of crime are down -- way down: Arrests for rape, murder, and theft have all decreased by two-thirds since 1990, according to a study published last week by the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Every cri ... More >>

Lost Boys: New Research Demolishes the Stereotype of the Underage Sex Worker

San Francisco One of the Few California Towns with Room for Prisoners

Crime Lab Confidential: DA and SFPD Withheld Damaging Memo About DNA Lab Failings

This Is Your City: Housing Authority Bans San Franciscans from Public Housing

Mobb Deep's Prodigy Has More to Say Online Than in Rhyme

SF Politicians Criticize NY Post Story on Alleged Strauss-Kahn Rape Victim's HIV Status

Dominique Strauss-Kahn​Every once in a while, San Francisco politicians surprise you. The city's Board of Supervisors is justly acknowledged for its symbolic gestures at the local level -- banning plastic bags, expressing support for cop killers, and the like. But the span of officialdom's tut-tut ... More >>

Jewel Thieves, Accused of 'Brazen' S.F. Burglary, Nabbed ... in Nebraska

We're not in Kansas anymore​Cops finally caught up with some local jewelry thieves as they cruised along Interstate 80 -- in the middle of Nebraska. The tale begins on the 300 block of 29th Avenue -- a quiet residential block near upscale Sea Cliff. Jewel thieves plotted what police are calling a ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Rapper DMX Tries to Overcome His Demons and Stage a Comeback

The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants, But What's Been Unearthed Reveals a Culture of Cruelty

Obstruction of Justice

A kidnapping victim watched his case linger needlessly in court 
for years. In S.F., he has company.

Pinalcchio: Renowned Forensics Experts Say a Pinal County Deputy's High-Profile Tale About Getting Shot After Encountering Drug Smugglers Doesn't Add Up

Asylum Denied

Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum.

Two More Suspects Arrested in San Francisco IRS Shooting

Don't mess with the IRS...​Two more alleged muggers are under arrest in the unusual case of an armed IRS agent shooting down her purported attackers. In addition to the alleged robber hospitalized Thursday morning after taking a bullet to the torso, San Francisco Police announce they've now arrest ... More >>

How was IRS Agent Who Shot Alleged Mugger 'On Duty'?

Don't mess with the IRS...​The news that an on-duty IRS special agent shot an alleged mugger at around midnight this morning in Hunters Point was something of a head-scratcher. Sure, armed IRS special agents investigate money-laundering, fraud cases, and ponzi schemes. But how many ponzi schemes a ... More >>

SFPD: DNA Links Dead Man to Murder of San Franciscan Charles McAleer-Bonilla

Charles McAleer-Bonilla​The San Francisco Police Department is announcing that DNA evidence ties a suspected bank robber and kidnapper who recently died in a shootout with the Sacramento Sheriff's Department to the April stabbing death of San Franciscan Charles McAleer-Bonilla in Noe Valley.

Cowboy Down: Rob Krentz's Family Talks About the Life and Death of the Murdered Arizona Rancher

Gerald Anthony Ortega, Accused of Hanging Puppy, Back in Court Again

Not the actual dog, no...​The Antioch man accused of beating his girlfriend, breaking into her apartment, and hanging her Jack Russell terrier puppy to death with an electric cord was arraigned yesterday. He was given a May 13 date to next appear in court in Martinez for a "further arraignment," a ... More >>

Man Accused of Robbing, Beating Girlfriend, Hanging Her Puppy

Gerald Anthony Ortega is accused of hanging his girlfriend's dog, a Jack Russell terrier puppy like this one​A man charged with beating his girlfriend, breaking into her apartment, and hanging her Jack Russell terrier puppy will be arraigned today. Gerald Anthony Ortega, 25, has a court date today ... More >>

Dandy Rotten Scoundrel

Michael Manos was living the same lie that he peddled across the country. But in San Francisco, the truth caught up with him.

S.F. State student who invoked Shield Law reveals murder scene photo in national contest

Will Lil Wayne's Stardom Survive Lockup? Look To 10 Other Jailed Rappers

RJ Shaughnessy​Lil Wayne, perhaps the most commercially successful and critically-lauded rapper of the past few years, was recently granted a reprieve from his date with destiny. Due to be sentenced on February 9th after pleading guilty to gun possession, the proceedings have been delayed until Ma ... More >>

Cabbie, Stabbed and Nearly Killed, May Have Been Lured Into Trap

View Larger MapSan Francisco cabbies, Steve Anton says, know all about States Street. The site where cab driver Balvinder Singh was knifed, robbed, and nearly murdered last night is a place that raises red flags among veteran cabbies. "There's only one way in and one way out," says Anton, the co-own ... More >>

Benevolent Gun-Wielding Robbers Strike Excelsior

Some licenses the mugger can keep...​A San Francisco man was robbed Monday in the shadow of McLaren Park by a miscreant toting a gun -- but said miscreant was also toting a heart. The victim told police he was standing with his key in the lock of his front door on the 1700 block of Burrows Street ... More >>

On Christmas Day, Man Pretends to Be Cop Then Sexually Assaults Prostitute

​Around noon on December 25, the SFPD got a call from a prosititute who said she was assaulted by a man who said he was a cop. She described the man -- a 5'7, 195-pound, balding African-American -- and the 1993 Isuzu Rodeo he was driving, which the cops soon learned was re ... More >>

Say Hello To My Little Friend: S.F., Meet CompStat

Can the SFPD saved by the miracle of computers? ​ Wednesday morning, at the unveiling of the city's new crimefighting tool, CompStat, San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon had the city say hello to his not-so-little friend and implementer, LAPD detective Jeff Godown.Gascon intend ... More >>

A Murder Most Foul: Man Shot Dead In Double Rock Projects During Apparent Robbery; City's 38th Homicide

View Larger Map A victim of an apparent robbery was gunned down in the Double Rock projects in Hunters Point in the pre-dawn hours this morning, marking the city's 38th homicide of the year. The Medical Examiner's office would not release the name of the victim to SF Weekly, citing the need to notif ... More >>

Time Bomb

Weather Underground leaders claimed their bombings were devised to avoid bloodshed. But FBI agents suspect the radical '70s group killed an S.F. cop in the name of revolution.

The Outsider

George Gascon is S.F.'s first police chief in 30 years who wasn't homegrown — and he's promising big changes. Criminals and lazy cops, you have been warned.

Craig Newmark speaks at victim's memorial in wake of Craigslist killings

Snitch

Deanna Johnson testified against a murderer to save her son. But in the projects, truth comes at a price.

Make Your Mama Cry

Who Killed Hugues de la Plaza?

His parents are so frustrated with seeking the answer that they want to bring investigators from France into the case

Get Out of Jail Free

In the process of taking down the city's baddest gangsters, prosecutors and cops set some very scary people free.

Hidden Treasure

Half a century ago, ex-heroin dealer Alfredo Santos created an epic work of art inside San Quentin. Now, he's coming back to be honored for it.