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Feed"It's a War Zone Down Here."
An exploration of the significantly high murder rates in Southeast San Diego
(page 1 of 3)
GRAYING BUT FIT, BRUNKER RUNS the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA in the heart of Southeast San Diego, an area he calls a “war zone.” Bordered by downtown, the I-5, and the Martin Luther King freeways, Southeast is a handful of small communities with idyllic names like Paradise Hills or Skyline or Mt. Hope. But the iron security bars over doors and windows suggest a grimmer reality. These are the deadliest zip codes in San Diego County.
“There’s a lot of violence,” Brunker says. “And there are a lot of unsolved crimes. That’s the message I’m on top of right now.”
Last June, it was apparent that San Diego was headed for an especially violent year. According to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), there were 51 homicides, compared to 31 homicides reported by mid-year in 2010. SDPD spokeswoman Lt. Andra Brown acknowledges the staggering increase, with a caveat: “We honestly had no idea why the numbers in 2010 were so low.”
BROWN SAYS THE 65 PERCENT homicide jump in 2011 was in fact a return to average. “We were on track for a low-normal year,” she explains, until Southeast San Diego erupted in violence. “There were a bunch of gang-related deaths in Mt. Hope, Mountain View, and Lincoln Park.”
By April, nine people had either been shot or killed in Southeast. Police Chief William Lansdowne announced SDPD would beef up patrols. In May, neighbors held a peace rally at the intersection of Euclid and Imperial—a.k.a. The Four Corners of Death, ground zero of gang combat. The focus of the rally was on the violence itself, but Brunker says the area’s low rate of criminal apprehension points to a bigger problem.
“After a crime happens, I look to see if [police] have arrested somebody,” he says. “And most of the time, they have not.” He attributes this largely to the unspoken code of the ‘hood: What happens here, stays here. In Southeast, a constant fear of gang retaliation dissuades victims from talking to law enforcement. The silence provides a safe haven for more bloodshed.
By the end of 2011, SDPD released statistics that show San Diego's overall crime rate—considering all violent crimes across all parts of the city—was remarkably low. On par with the crime rate of the 1960s, even, and placing San Diego among the 10 safest cities in the US. Press conferences touted the success of the police department, but Brunker says it's a dangerous kind of victory speech.
“Throughout the year we continued to receive crime statistics that showed overall crime had dropped not only in San Diego but around the country. However, for those victims of violence and loss in Southeast it is unsettling to hear," says Brunker. "For the families who are surviving violent loss, they don't want to talk numbers. For them, one is too many."
"The gun crimes, the violent crimes, the fatalities—those all appear to be higher in Southeast San Diego than in prior years.”
Last year’s peace rally was not Southeast’s first; public demonstrations have followed almost every gang-related bloodbath going back to 2003 and beyond. Of the county’s 88 gangs, Brunker says at least 50 operate within those few square miles. Surely some gang affiliates heard the outrage in the voices at the Four Corners rally on that day. But just as surely, they offered no truce.
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Reader Comments:
If only San Diego would come together to help those in these communitites with free counseling, building improved education opportunities by assisting the community schools, volunteering/ donating at the JRYMCA, San Diego Compassion Project and most importantly showing up in the thousands at the community marches. It is more people with good intentions for a thriving community then people with criminal intentions. Kids are dealing with Trauma stress related disorders that go unattended to, they witness homicides, shootings, stabbings, beat downs and drug sales if we all don't stand up protect these kids the cycle will continue.
The three young men who are doing life sentences were not raised to be murdererd when they sat out o rob the 18 year old La Jolla man but he indeed died at a choice that cost four heir lives and devastated and destroyed four families.
The man that killed the two youth in 2008 was not raised to be a murder but he decided that day to
take not one but two lives and finally caught he is serving life for killing what we would learn his mom's childhood bestfriends son and daughter.
The men that got into an argument and decided to have a shoot out in a crowd of people downtown, killing a young woman on her 21st birthday was not raised to be a murder but yet he killed the daughter of one of his teachers who reached out to him when he was a youngster in school.
These murders were once kids who witnessed many things in their neighborhoods and their lives went unnoticed until the headlines showed them shackled and the innocent people they murdered.
Those political and educational officials need to know as well that if you keep taking funding away for desperately needed resources in underserved communities it has a devastating affect. At one time children were a top priority, we had meetings and in them officials sat and then the cuts began which hit the kids we all said we would protect.
We are all in this together and we must all help!
Interesting Article, this is a complex situation, the Violence that does & can take place in S.E.S.D. there are alot of organazations that are in place in Southeast but they DO NOT come together one one accord for whatever the reasons may be, you have people that act as though certain things that are going on in the community are beneath them to participate, such as Peace Rallies which DO NOT ONLY take place after a Gang shooting or Homicide, U have Organizations such as "PEACE & UNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY COALITION" that has & does go to Highrisk Gang areas & Rally advocating for Peace & denouncing the gang violence that has plauged our community for so long, We do not wait on a Youth to be gunned down to come out and be heard & keep the communtiy aware of what's taking place in our community, All "2011" Summer long We were on a corner in our community trying & MAKING a difference..
Again, we see the local conservative media and those people who benefit from depicting southeastern San Diego as a "war zone" and subsequently, the people who live there as pathogenic and pathological persons in need of outside "intervention"; spewing their unfounded venom and indicting our community. It must be said that the senseless and horrific death of any person especially young people is a tragedy; however, criminalizing a whole community does not solve any problems it only contributes to diviseness and alienation; which cannot lead in the final analysis to any real solutions. For the record, southeastern San Diego is no more prone to violence than Coronado, Pacific Beach, Tierrasanta, or La Jolla. If we are to seriously address the problem of gun violence, anywhere, we must begin by raising key questions to law enforcement and the powers that be, such as, Where are the weapons coming from? (Southeastern San Diego has no known licensed gun shops) What are the implications of trunacy sweeps to youth as it relates to them developing criminal records? What preventative measures are being implemented or planned to curtail gun violence? How is the City's Gang Commission building the capacity to intervene in gun violence, aside from its clear focus on law enforcement fearmongering?
Violence is endemic to American society. Our first real steps towards addressing this issue is to frame our discussion and advocacy under the auspices of social and restorative justice as well as equity in terms of resources, both technical and finacial. Maybe then our children and future generations will praise us for our initiative and gun violence in "any" neighborhood will become a thing of the past.
NOTE: The reporter/writer should practice objective journalism by reporting objective facts, i.e. substantiate "the significantly higher murder rates", before you make that claim.
Nice vocabulary. How's your math?
When you add up the loss of life attributed to gun and gang violence in Southeast San Diego alone it is simply unacceptable. I think its great that San Diego Magazine is writing about this unwelcome reality of America's Finest City.
You could have stopped with "It must be said that the senseless and horrific death of any person especially young people is a tragedy." Are the experts making up the senseless deaths (PLURAL) attached to Southeast?
Instead of challenging the reporter/writer's objectivity, consider substantiating the facts by talking to the many victim families he interviewed and those working with those families.
I am taken aback by oomments I read in our local newspapers or merely listening to folk discuss the violence in our community, specific to our young people! When are we going to accept responsibility for our community and not be dependent on others to "fix it" for us? It is not the police or the community activists position to fix our problem. We are the problem - we must no longer allow these folk to hold our community hostage because they would rather fight for crime rather than fight for higher education, jobs, - a better way of life!
It disturbs me when I hear parents report that they have no control over their under-aged teenager! An underaged teen who is allowed to remain outside of the house until midnight or thereafter; a young girl who is allowed to spend the night at another's house when there is no parent supervision; a girlfriend/boyfriend who is allowed to spend the night in the same bedroom; where are the parents; a young girl or boy who is allowed to attend unsupervised parties and stay out until 2, 3, 4 am in the morning. Where are the parents? Parents, where are you?
We are responsible for our children - if we have grown children living in our homes, we are responsible for their coming and going! If you feel that we are not, then they should not be in the home! Let them get their own place! Let them be accountable for themselves!
Let's not continue to blame the media, the police - we are responsible for our own children - our community!
I would not advocate violence in any manner! Where did the old fashion way of handling issues go - some would walk away; others would remain and physically fight and then makeup! Where did the love go - where it would take a village to raise a child - when did we as a community give up?
Let's not give up - particularly on those who want to continue to make bad choices. People, the killing must stop!
What are you fighting for? When are we going to band together and say "enough is enough?"
There are numerous inaccuracies and blatantly wrong information provided in this article. First, the authors haphazardly and inaccurately refer to Southeast San Diego as an area that includes the communities of Paradise Hills, Skyline, and Lincoln Park. According to the City’s website, “Southeastern San Diego includes the neighborhoods of Sherman Heights, Logan Heights, Grant Hill, Memorial, Stockton, Mount Hope, Mountain View, Southcrest, and Shelltown” (http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/profiles/southeasternsd). On the other hand, the map does accurately display Southeast San Diego (although it does label State Route 94 twice). Therefore, the article contradicts itself which is important to note for my second point - the article incorrectly states that crime is significantly higher in this part of San Diego. For this argument we must assume that the authors did in fact intend to refer to all of San Diego south of SR-94 as “Southeast San Diego.” For example, Paradise Hills has a lower crime rate than Clairemont and Point Loma, among others (http://www.sandiego.gov/police/services/statistics/index.shtml). This type of characterization is unjustifiable but typical because the authors and editors of “San Diego Magazine” probably have never been to most of these “southeast” neighborhoods.
Nevertheless, there is a significant amount violence - domestic, gang, etc. - in San Diego that should not be tolerated. Unfortunately, our society, I feel, has generally become apathetic to violence. Is it any surprise that America is the most violent, criminal-ridden socity in the developed world? "Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
Have you ever considered that you label southeast a war sone, but in reality, it is the safest in all the other areas in the city. Have you given such negative publicity because you, meaning our illustrious leaders, are shifting your guilt regarding the neglect and disparities in the southeastern neighborhoods. Pointing the finger means that you are aware of the problem you have caused, yet you stick a label on our community and feel that is enough. We are a part of the cloth that is essentially from the same fabric as you; meaning we love with a passion, try twice as hard, fight injusticies continually and bear up to the slander, but the real cure would be to treat everyone equally and clean around your own house, or at least own up to the problems you too have. Let's get it right, perhaps you are scared, but we'll show you how to make it better. Meet us half the way. And most of all, ask God, the same God who put us all here and he'll surely help. We are not so undesirable as you claim, do you believe that the God you serve would be so unjust to you as to put you here on earth with such undesirables as you would have society believe. We are in this soup bowl of life together and I suggest we all enhance the flavor and enjoy.
Cathy R.