Review: Good Idea, Can Be Misleading, Needs Fine-Tuning
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 25, 2012
San Francisco looks safer than it is, because it doesn't have large areas of badly run-down buildings.  Thus the "Stay Safe Crime Map of San Francisco" is definitely a good idea.  However, it needs more work and some fine-tuning.The main problem with the app, is that all of the maps use the exact same crosshatching pattern to indicate "dangerous" areas, without using different patterns to indicate the types of crimes that are most common in different areas.  For example, crimes in the downtown financial district are more likely to be stolen wallets or purses, while crimes in the Tenderloin are more likely to be prostitution, muggings, or stabbings.  Thus I feel pretty safe downtown, but generally avoid the Tenderloin.  Both areas look equally bad on the included maps.Also, crosshatching appears in most areas where crowds collect (for example, near BART stations), even though these areas are not unusually dangerous (given that San Francisco is a densely populated, big city).  And crosshatching is completely missing from the Civic Center proper, and from the more remote and dangerous areas of Golden Gate Park, where one may encounter, respectively,  aggressive panhandlers or homeless encampments.The maps themselves are attractive, and there is a Zoom feature that makes them fairly easy to read on my Kindle Fire.  The maps in the first release can be glitchy:  on the Fire, the wider maps sometimes display in landscape mode in the vertical position, and in portrait mode in the horizontal position.Overall, I rate this app at 3 stars, because the maps are somewhat over-inclusive in identifying particular areas as "dangerous".  (Although I no longer live in San Francisco, I visit the City at least twice a month on business, and read the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE daily, so I'm still familiar with City streets and City crime.)  In addition to consulting this app, tourists who want to stay safe in San Francisco should always pay reasonable attention to their surroundings, and should also keep in mind that the hills are generally safer than the flatlands.