San Francisco Chronicle faces backlash for asking if locals should ‘tolerate’ crime surge

The San Francisco Chronicle is facing massive outrage on social media platforms for all the wrong reasons. The US-based 'major newspaper' took to Twitter to raise issues of crime surge in the city. However, this did not board well with the San Francisco residents who criticised the leading newspaper for asking such questions. The post shared by the Chronicle highlighted the increase in burglaries and criminal activities over a few months. 

Taking to the microblogging platform, the newspaper wrote, "At the same time, residents and city leaders are searching for answers: Should they tolerate a high level of burglaries as a downside of city living, and focus instead on barricading their homes?". The post further read, "Should people who are repeatedly accused of stealing be targeted with rehabilitation services, or incarcerated so they can’t commit more crimes?" it added.

Bewildered with the question asked by the leading newspaper, the residents were quick enough to show their reactions. Targetting the first few lines of the post, one user said, "nobody is searching for answers," as "stealing from and hurting other people is just wrong". Another person questioned, "Should the residents of SF tolerate burglaries and barricade their homes? Are you joking? ". A third user who was extremely disappointed by the leading newspaper wrote, "Tolerate burglaries as a part of city living". He wrote, "Actual words printed in an actual major newspaper".

According to a report published in Sputnik International, a poll report says over 40 percent of San Francisco residents revealed that they plan to settle in some other city in the next few years. While, eight out of 10 residents believed that cases of crime in the city have tremendously increased in recent years, and 76 percent of the city's residents said increasing the security force and police patrolling is required in the city. Car thefts in San Francisco increased by 753 percent in May compared to the previous year, according to police department data. Along with that, the percentage of organised retail crime has also forced many stores to close. It is necessary to mention here that the second-largest US pharmacy store chain, Walgreen, has recently closed 5 stores located in San Francisco, citing rampant shoplifting and other criminal activities resulting in losses of more than $1,000 a day. Some major cities, including California, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Illinois, have witnessed a huge exodus of nearly four million residents in the last decade, reported Sputnik, citing Forbes. 

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