All anecdotal: I believe many, like me, that are claiming the decline in safety are actually living here. I've been here since 2010, FWIW (not saying that is long, but long enough to see changes, IMO). When I first got here, I remember seeing someone shoot up in an alley. I remember a drunk or drugged man smashing his head into the window of a bus. But, against the expectation that I would become assimilated and desensitized over time, I am more shocked now. The last time I went to the TL (six months ago), I was actually scared, and vowed not to return without good reason. I wish I could point to a single thing. Maybe it was the needles strewn, the folks dazed and walking into traffic, the knocked out folks on the sidewalk; it felt lawless. Maybe I'm getting older and scare more easily, that's also a possibility.