The data is also probably skewed due to the lack of reporting, since police have a reputation for being useless in SF (I don't know if it's like that in NY too). I was spit on once by a beggar but didn't report it. My wife was assaulted once and the police came but I don't think any formal report was filed. I called the police once to report a guy breaking car windows at night but they just seemed baffled someone would call them for this. Like, how many people in SF actually report their broken car windows to the police? I just lived there for two years by the way, in a relatively safe part of town...