Which parts of San Jose has the most gang activity? (Fruitdale: apartment, house)

[mexsalboy]

East Side San Jose has the most violence out of the other sides of San jose. South San Jose would be following, and then the downtown Area

[rah]

SJ definitely has lots of gang stuff going on...despite that, it's never really had that high of a violent crime rate...even back in the 80's and 90's. Let's compare SJ's violent crime rate to SF and Oakland (highs are red):

San Jose:

1985 - 491.5
1986 - 556.4
1987 - 599.7
1988 - 640.6
1989 - 598.3
1990 - 600.6
1991 - 658.5
1992 - 668.9
1993 - 656.8
1994 - 725.6
1995 - 808.1
1996 - 731.6
1997 - 736.6
1998 - 599.3
1999 - 580.9
2000 - 550.6
2001 - 609.1
2002 - 445.6
2003 - 371.3
2004 - 371.8
2005 - 383.5
2006 - 386.8
2007 - 402.2

San Francisco:

1985 - 1,295.5
1986 - 1,266.5
1987 - 1,210.8
1988 - 1,282.2
1989 - 1,340.1
1990 - 1,711.1
1991 - 1,645.4
1992 - 1,821.3
1993 - 1,815.0
1994 - 1,461.4
1995 - 1,476.6
1996 - 1,326.8
1997 - 1,133.5
1998 - 989.7
1999 - 866.3
2000 - 836.7
2001 - N/A
2002 - 752.4
2003 - 741.5
2004 - 757.1
2005 - 798.9
2006 - 875.6
2007 - 874.1

Oakland:

1985 - 1,851.2
1986 - 1,885.0
1987 - 1,771.9
1988 - 1,664.7
1989 - 1,516.5
1990 - 1,570.2
1991 - 2,495.8
1992 - 2,626.4
1993 - 2,601.6
1994 - 2,193.9
1995 - N/A
1996 - 2,194.8
1997 - 2,184.5
1998 - 1,862.0
1999 - 1,550.0
2000 - 1,261.1
2001 - 1,309.9
2002 - 1,366.9
2003 - 1,379.1
2004 - 1,276.8
2005 - 1,420.8
2006 - 1,905.3
2007 - 1,917.8

[Ludachris]

I'd have to admit, as much as San Jose has had the gang-banger rap, the violent crime stats don't seem to make it out to be all that bad. The gang image seemed to be a lot worse back in the late 80's, and yet, the stats still wouldn't suggest that.

If anything, I think there are a lot more people who look like gangsters than there is gang violence in San Jose, and I think that's heavily limited to the lower income areas. I think the perception is there due to all the lowriders you see driving around and the large Hispanic population that tend to dress like gangsters. Maybe the violence is actually getting worse now with the recent economic issues in some of its lower income areas. Who knows.

The areas that I remember being sketchy 5 years ago were east SJ (centered around Story/King) and the south (near Monterey/Capitol). That's where you'd hear about most of the gang activity. The further you got away from those areas, the less you'd see people who dressed like thugs.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Ludachris

If anything, I think there are a lot more people who look like gangsters than there is gang violence in San Jose, and I think that's heavily limited to the lower income areas. I think the perception is there due to all the lowriders you see driving around and the large Hispanic population that tend to dress like gangsters. Maybe the violence is actually getting worse now with the recent economic issues in some of its lower income areas. Who knows.

That's just the style, a lot of kids dress like thugs even in the nice neighborhoods where you never see anyone up to no good. I live just off of Aborn on the east side in Evergreen. Cars with big flashy chrome wheels blasting hip-hop? Check. Hoodies and tall tees? Check. Gunfire? Pimps? Sideshows? Not really.

[Lifeshadower]

I've been to Story and King before to visit some relatives. It's not that bad of an area in an absolute sense, but I can see it being considered 'ghetto' compared to the rest of the Santa Clara Valley. It's a middle to lower-middle income suburban area populated by immigrants. Not that much different from where I grew up in LA.

Sure, there is a Norteno presence with X4 tagging (corresponding with N for Nuestra Familia), but in my experience Mexican gangs aren't really much for random violence. They mostly leave you alone unless you actively SEEK trouble.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

Sure, there is a Norteno presence with X4 tagging (corresponding with N for Nuestra Familia), but in my experience Mexican gangs aren't really much for random violence. They mostly leave you alone unless you actively SEEK trouble.

Problem lately seems to be innocent kids, not knowing they might be confused as rival gang members due to thug wear, getting attacked by roving Nortenos or Surenos.

But besides the usual turf conflicts, there are more lowriders, etc., than actual thugs running around getting violent.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Problem lately seems to be innocent kids, not knowing they might be confused as rival gang members due to thug wear, getting attacked by roving Nortenos or Surenos.

But besides the usual turf conflicts, there are more lowriders, etc., than actual thugs running around getting violent.

You'd think the parents would discourage thug-wear as a result... unfortunately, they don't.

Most all of the conflicts I encountered that were gang related (more than 10 years ago now) seemed to be at night in the "bad" areas. If you avoid those areas when all the young people are out in numbers up to no good, the odds are MUCH lower that you'll encounter the real gangsters, as opposed to a young person dressed like one.

SJ has actually put a lot of effort into cleaning up King and Story the past 10 years through development. It's nothing like it used to be, but it's still a lower income area with a large Hispanic population. And as a result, it's still considered to be a breeding ground for gangs, and probably the worst part of San Jose to live in.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Ludachris

SJ has actually put a lot of effort into cleaning up King and Story the past 10 years through development. It's nothing like it used to be, but it's still a lower income area with a large Hispanic population. And as a result, it's still considered to be a breeding ground for gangs, and probably the worst part of San Jose to live in.

No, not really. The only part of San Jose that scares me is around W Virginia St, just south of downtown. There is a lot of random violence in that area, and very little of it gets reported unless someone gets killed.

[rah]

I have a friend who lives in Fruitdale (which is actually an unincorporated community of 900 or so people, sandwiched Between SJ and Campbell, rather than an actual SJ hood, so i've learned), and apparently it has a reputation of being somewhat ghetto...in my opinion it doens't seem bad at all though. There are a lot of poorer latino people and a much smaller amount of poorer black people living right around the apartment complex my friend lives in (right behind SJ City College), so i guess some people might automatically take that to mean the area is bad... but I looked up the area's demographics on wikipedia, and the poverty rate is only 6%...not to mention the area as a whole is mostly white anyways. Just an example of perception vs. reality, i guess.

Also, here are the average violent crime rates for SF, Oakland, and SJ, from 1985-2007:

Oakland: 1,809.4
San Francisco: 1,194.4
San Jose: 572.8

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

No, not really. The only part of San Jose that scares me is around W Virginia St, just south of downtown. There is a lot of random violence in that area, and very little of it gets reported unless someone gets killed.

I know that area, and I'd agree with your comments. Funny how close that area is to Willow Glenn, isn't it?

But the the infamous "east side" seems like it has always been the focus when people talk about SJ gangs. Has that general perception changed in the last few years?