Outside the context of crime: loitering, yes, foot traffic, not really. It's possible this particular phrase is a euphemism used in crime reporting, I don't know, but if it is I don't know why they wouldn't just say "officers no longer suspected dealers were using this place" / "informants/word on the street was that distribution moved to xyz ... "

That sentence read strangely to me as well; I think foot traffic is great and my favorite places in America are built around promoting it.

I think it’s both a euphemism and perhaps it’s an area that no longer has regular foot traffic (closed businesses, vacant houses,etc) and the foot traffic was the clientele.

I say this as someone who lives in a high crime area.

That's how they want you to read it. They literally measure it by whether anybody goes to a place or stays in it. So if you make some part of your city into a place nobody wants to be in, then nobody will be there.

And, sure, the people who aren't there won't be committing crimes there. They'll go commit their crimes somewhere else. Or I guess maybe they'll just sit at home until they shoot themselves...

It's generally people hanging out that don't have good intentions in mind, which might include drug transactions.

I imagine since in the US, no one walks and there is nothing of interest outside, anyone who is out standing around is probably engaging in some criminal activity.

What a sad society where this is the case.

It’s often in areas that had factories or businesses that are closed and there is nothing but vacant buildings lefts for the underworld and marginalized to live until the next development.

Might as well use the abandoned property instead of letting it go to waste

That's a pretty broad brush you're painting one of the largest and most diverse countries in the world with.

Certainly where I live, everyone walks, rides bikes, and spends a huge amount of time outside.

> there is nothing of interest outside

Whew. I don't even know where to start with this one.

If this is how you perceive the United States, I think there's a huge opportunity for you to learn more about this country.