I live in a west coast city that has seen an explosion in crime, much like San Francisco. While anecdotal evidence is not the same as data, I can tell you from my own experience and those of many others I’ve talked to, you won’t see the data reflecting the true crime rate because people don’t bother reporting it to the police. In my city, it’s not uncommon to wait on hold with 911 for up to 20 minutes at a time. If the police show up, it’s often hours later. When they do, they will typically tell you there’s nothing they can do, especially if the crime in question is a property crime. The best you can hope for is a police report.

In my city, car theft has become so rampant that a whole new subreddit has emerged specifically to track stolen cars here. Groups of citizens with guns sometimes organize on Facebook to go reclaim stolen vehicles from homeless encampments. Catalytic converter theft is also rampant. My street has been hit multiple times. Our shared mailboxes have been broken into over and over again. Stores in my neighborhood routinely experience break-ins and thefts. Shootings are through the roof. In October 2019, there were 28 shootings in my city. In October 2020, there were 88, and in October 2021 there were 129.

Sometimes, when the thermometer reads 98.6, it’s because the patient is healthy. But sometimes, it’s because the thermometer is broken.