San Francisco is torn as crime situation worsens

San Francisco

FROM her apartment at the foot of the celebrated zigzags of Lombard Street, Judith Calson has twice peered out of her window as thieves smashed their way into cars and snatched whatever they could. She has seen foreign tourists cry after cash and passports were stolen. She shudders when she recounts the story of the Thai tourist who was shot because he resisted thieves taking his camera. And that is her tally from the last year alone.

"I never thought of this area as a high-crime neighbourhood," Ms Calson, a retired photographer, said of this leafy part of the city, where tourists flock to view the steeply sloped, crooked street adorned with flower beds.