Public exposure, fights and DUIs.

NORTH BEACH!

It's an amazing place. I really do enjoy spending most of my time there and getting to know the variety of people that add flavor to such a diverse neighborhood.

This weekend I spent Friday and Saturday night hanging around some bars/clubs in the area. I mainly stayed on Broadway and Columbus and got to see a lot of people acting silly-meaning drunk.

Long story short, I witnessed a bunch of drunken guys letting their egos get the best of them and start fights. One guy started running past me and pushed another guy with all of his might. I also got a free show and saw a big girl expose her breasts more than once to a bunch of guys who were doing a music video. I wanted to talk to her, but she stumbled away rather quickly. The policemen also got to know me and would talk to me every time I would pass by.

I witnessed a lot of people jaywalking in front of cop cars as well as some drunken drivers. I also talked to a few bouncers who gave me their contact information and a free pass to a strip club.

I plan to go back later this week to pick up some crime reports.

Public Records Discrepancy

I want to do a breaking news story. It's a personal goal. But there's challenges and discrepancies in the system that have virtually stopped my right of access. I give my steps as examples:

First step took me to the San Francisco Police Department's Public Affairs office, inconveniently way out at 850 Bryant. Once through the metal detectors, I tried to solve their mixed up directory.

Up I went to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation to request I crime report. I had a bunch of crimes written down that I'd found on the city's crime map, case number, date, time... Not being directly involved in the crime, I was asked my interest: journalist.

So they sent me up to Media Relations (I was about to go there anyway). First of all, Officer Dwayne Tulley is retired. I don't know if he would've been more flexible about helping me out, but the cops up there are lazy and difficult.

They only deal with the main-stream media, Chronicle, Examiner, and such. This of course sounded like bullshit, so I argued. Turns out it is bullshit, but legal. Them turning me away does not break the California Public Records Acts. I'm still given access to these records, but I'm required to go through the public's door, the Bureau of Criminal investigation, right where I'd come from. The old run-around.

But an Officer from Media Relations was nice enough to accompany me back down, so as to explain my situation to the people behind the windows. This is where I found a discrepancy in the system, one that fully interrupts the public right of access.

The case number that is given on the crime map is not the incident number, which is required to look up a crime report. It's only the Computer-Aided Design code, CAD number. No officer I spoke to seemed to know where I could actually find an incident number.

I was invited back behind the counter to search up old incidents in my area, and got an auto theft report, but it's from January, so I'm still in the market for a recent report.

What I've tried since has failed as well. I've gone to my station to get a newsletter from them, describing any recent crimes, but they don't have any hard copies and I still haven't received any promised email copy.

I've also just tried hanging out for hours in my neighborhood in hopes of seeing a crime first hand, so that I could get the number on the spot.

What to do, what to do?

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Question: How do you do a crime story when there is absolutely no crime in your neighborhood?

I imagined learning about some murder that happened and do a follow up story about it. Yeah I would be hardcore like Professor Daley and be a detective, trench coat and all.
But surprise, surprise, there was nothing! Noe Valley is one of the safest neighborhoods in San Francisco.

I did find a little vandalism here and there, a few car break ins and a few brawls. COOL.

Welp I'm over that, I'm heading to Oakland to attend the Chauncey Bailey trial.

Crime. Crime! Crime?

So here's the thing about the Haight: crime highly subjective.

The crime map we're supposed to do is going to be full of the most notorious crimes the neighborhood has to offer: noise violations and public intoxication.

Man, I stumbled upon the most exciting topic my neighborhood has to offer. Obviously.

My current favorite part of this whole thing is that I've planned on doing Sit/Lie this whole time, and it would be great if this was included on the city crime map, but apparently since its instigation in February to San Francisco, Sit/Lie doesn't count as a crime worthy of being plotted on the map.

This means that my assignment is automatically slightly harder than I thought. I'll have to go to Park Station and weasel my way into getting legitimate information about a crime that may or may not actually count as a real crime. Even better: I'm going to get to find people who have gotten busted for this (i.e. homeless people who are ridiculously difficult to find if you don't already know who they are) so I can talk to them about the law.

Why I chose the newbie crime and law to report on is beyond me at this point. Well, that's a lie: I understand it's highly relevant, and important, and it's crucial to my understanding of the neighborhood.

The reporter in me is just snapping at the chance to get out and figure out how much people hate this law, but the other part of me already basically knows the answer.

And when you legitimately know the answer to the biggest question of your story, where's the mystery in the reporting?

Suffering in contrast

Over the years I have experienced a number of personal, local, global and intercultural tragedies that would put most to shame. From the shooting at Virginia Tech that claimed a number of friends, to my visit to Sudan to document the plight of refugees fleeing their homes, persecuted for their religious views by violent warlords, I have seen more than most and more than I would ever have desired to see.

Yet it is the story of one girl that I have learned of recently that may hit closest to home. This 16 year old girl was assaulted and raped in the OMI neighborhood three weeks ago. She was brutally attacked while waiting for the 14 bus near the corner of Sickles and San Jose Avenue.

In a country where safety is assumed and personal identity is paramount, this type of crime can be the most brutal. This was a violation of not only her personal liberties and freedoms but her sense of self. To tear into one's self-ascribed identity the way these attackers did is unconscionable. I'm going to write my crime story about her, for her and for others who would otherwise lack the voice or the volume to be heard.

I'm both excited and terrified to write this story, as I'm afraid that it will open a door that I will forever be unable to close. While I have seen suffering at its most guttural and vicious levels, suffering so near to my home and so real as not to be ignored is something completely different. This isn't something I am able to move away from or to leave and head back home. This is something I must explore and dig into its deep, dark corners in order to be as comprehensive as possible.

Hrm..

Crime: Bailey or TL

I'm torn. The Chauncey Bailey case seems so interesting and for lack of a better word... easy. Any story about a fellow journalist being slain is going to be juicy. Plus, most of the footwork is already done for me. However, in the long run a crime story about the Tenderloin would benefit my final story and overall make me a better journalist.

As I have said before, the Tenderloin is full of crime stories that beg reporting. However, my main concern with any TL story will be my access to information.

Some sources from the neighborhood have hinted that the local businesses and drug dealers are in cohoots. According to Delano Seymour, a local historian, local businesses are protected by the drug dealers because they don't want to make their corners "hot" with police presence.

However, such an accusation would be very hard to prove. I mean what business owner would admit to liking the presence of drug dealers in their neighborhood? And even further that they actually sponsor these drug dealers?

Additionally, such an undertaking would require me observing these corners for drug activity. Unfortunately, I may not be the most credible person for the job. I have a pretty good idea of what a drug transaction looks like but I don't have any actual credentials to back this up.

It just seems like an impossible report for a beginning reporter like myself.

Another story idea I have is to report on the accusation from some police officers that drug dealers stand outside of TL drug rehabs to offer drugs to recovering addicts and users. Again, this presents me with problems of access. Who would admit to selling or buying drugs right outside of the place where they are supposed to be recovering. Maybe a nurse or counselor would talk to me about the matter?

If anyone has any suggestions to creative approaches to these stories please let me know.

Diggin' for Crime at a Strip Club.

Last week I went to North Beach with the intention of talking to random bouncers/security workers. After talking to a few interesting people, I found a man by the name of Jason who said has been working at the strip clubs in North Beach since 2007. Jason talked quite a bit and was very friendly and informative, he gave me his number so I texted him last night.

After working out for two hours at the gym, he gave me a call right as I was about to head out. He told me to come on down to a strip club where he was working. Since I was already pretty close to North Beach I decided to head on over. I've never been to a female strip club before, so I felt a little uneasy. Being a Monday night I expected North Beach to be pretty dead; however there were a lot of folks roaming around in the street. I started walking down to the Garden of Eden, ignoring the various comments from strangers and instead following the bright lights that led to the path of lust.

To my surprise Jason was working as a DJ that night. I really didn't understand why he would invite me to talk to him with all the loud music, but it was an interesting experience none-the-less. I talked to some of the strippers there who told me that for the most part, there is very low crime that occurs in strip clubs. Since it was a fully nude club, they didn't serve alcohol there. One stripper told me that she has been working there for 7 years now and has never experienced anything bad. Before she used to work at the Verizon store where she said she was held at gunpoint. I also talked to the manager, James, who pretty much told me the same thing.

"There are some fights that go on when guys try to abuse the girls that work here," said James. "But we try to talk them out before they get out of hand."

I got some pretty good quotes, but seeing that they worked at a strip club, most people that I talked to were hesitant to give me there last name.

Some girls didn't take a liking to me and one of them flicked her hair at my face. Some of the men thought I worked there too, which confused me seeing how I was wearing two jackets, jeans and boots. All-in-all, strip clubs seem to be a pretty safe place. I'm going to go out to North Beach this weekend to see what happens in other clubs/bars.