Earlier this week, an opinion piece appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune, written by occasional Rag writer Jillian Butler, with the headline, “Why Ocean Beach needs ‘broken windows’ policing.” It decried the sad state of OB and complained of the graffiti, drug use and fights visible in public. Butler stated:
The 5000 block of Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach was once a cultural and business haven. Now, it is commonplace to stroll through the area on any day and witness individuals using heroin, openly selling drugs, defecating or masturbating. … However, as any business owner of an establishment on Newport can tell you, stabbings, druggings and brawls are no longer uncommon occurrences.
Butler states that non-violent offenses no longer are dealt with by San Diego police, OB needs what’s called “broken windows’ policing.” This is a community-based system of policing and caring for a community; repair the windows, cover up the graffiti to show that residents care about the neighborhood.
But drug use, graffiti and fights have been common in OB for decades. Yet, Butler raises the issue: has it worsened? Is Ocean Beach really getting this bad?
What’s your view?
Here’s Butler’s piece:
Why Ocean Beach needs ‘broken windows’ policing
By Jillian Butler
On the wall beside the CVS parking lot in Ocean Beach, a graffiti tag appeared months ago. Since then, more tags have followed. Drug use and fights in the parking lot are no longer unusual, and the sense that no one is responsible for maintaining order has become increasingly difficult to ignore.
Criminologists call this the “broken windows” theory: Visible signs of disorder signal that lawlessness will be tolerated, inviting more serious crime to follow. Though critics dubbed this theory inequitable, my coastal San Diego neighborhood of Ocean Beach has become a case study in what happens when small crimes and public disorder are allowed to persist.
The 5000 block of Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach was once a cultural and business haven. Now, it is commonplace to stroll through the area on any day and witness individuals using heroin, openly selling drugs, defecating or masturbating. Though all of these actions are extremely antisocial, they are nonviolent and therefore not a priority for the already-strained San Diego Police Department. However, as any business owner of an establishment on Newport can tell you, stabbings, druggings and brawls are no longer uncommon occurrences.
Earlier this month, I was getting cocktails and appetizers with a friend. We were sitting in outdoor seating as we watched multiple police cars line up on Newport. A staff member said that they were responding to the second stabbing of the week. My friend took out a six-month lease on an apartment in Ocean Beach. With her lease being up before long, she was still deciding whether or not San Diego would be her permanent home. She dejectedly told me that the crime and dirtiness in what was once labeled America’s Finest City — now America’s most expensive city — solidified her decision to not renew her lease. Unfortunately, this is not a one-off issue.
As a young professional and San Diego native who has spent 25 out of her 27 years of life in San Diego, I have a multitude of former classmates, colleagues and friends who have moved to the Ocean Beach/Point Loma area, drawn to the postcard-worthy Sunset Cliffs and tales of farmer’s markets and multi-story breweries — only to become disenchanted by exorbitant prices for seedy streets.
This also bleeds into the tourism industry — an industry that brings in an annual average of $22 billion in revenue and accounts for 1 in 8 jobs in the area. San Diego’s beaches, naval history and food scene have long supported a thriving tourism industry. Ocean Beach is a beach town situated both on an idyllic coastline and near the San Diego airport, making it a draw for visitors.
Sewage spills from the Tijuana River, an overall economic downturn and a drop in international travel have already battered our tourism industry. Public disorder will only worsen this. Additionally, it weakens community morale and sends a message of a city that does not care about itself or its people.
San Diegans, specifically Ocean Beach residents, are proud people. On the freeway, it is not uncommon to see multiple cars with the iconic Ocean Beach logo as a bumper sticker. Enter any bar during baseball season and you will see San Diego pride embodied. However, the lawlessness on our streets does not reflect this.
Maintaining order often begins with small, seemingly insignificant actions. In his speech “Make Your Bed,” retired Navy SEAL Adm. William H. McRaven described how the first task of the day in SEAL training is making one’s bed. The chore seems trivial, but its purpose is simple: If you cannot do the small things right, you will never do the big things right. Public safety works the same way.
Recently, someone tagged the electrical box beside my apartment parking spot. Since moving to Ocean Beach in 2021, I have witnessed drug use, fights and fireworks being set off at 4 a.m. in the alley behind my building. As a young woman living alone, those experiences are unsettling, but how can I count on law enforcement to address them if it cannot address simple vandalism?
The deeper problem is not any single incident — it is the growing sense that no one is responsible for maintaining order. If Ocean Beach hopes to remain the vibrant coastal neighborhood generations of San Diegans have loved, we cannot afford to ignore those small things any longer.
‘ to stroll through the area on any day …. ‘ I stroll through the area during the day and rarely past 6:00PM. I never witness what she says is becoming more common place, so I have to believe incidents like described are for sure at night. Of course, it would be nice if the police had a substation near Newport. Just a greater presence. The exorbitant prices are everywhere. Mission & Pacific Beach have the same issues, with car vandalism, break-ins, & stealing likely higher in PB. We all expect more for our tax dollars, but America’s Fiscal Pity applies to more than just OB.
People could start by taking pride in their neighborhood and helping to clean up their immediate areas. Picking up trash, clean graffiti, take care of their sidewalks by throwing a little water on the parkways or keeping it tidy. There are a number of people in the community who do things like that but there are far more who expect others to it for them. Heck. You can’t even get people to take a second to report graffiti or dumped trash on the get it done app because they think it won’t work (btw, it does for basic things like those). If people would chip in ALL the time versus waiting for the special clean up events, then it could be momentous.
Sometimes I think it’s because our neighborhood is so rental heavy that there is less investment in the community. Or maybe they think since they’re paying rent, that the (absentee) landlords should be taking care of everything, but to absent landlords, out of sight is out of mind. I’m loath to say anything nice about STVRs, but one thing they do well is that they tend to maintain their properties, otherwise they get bad reviews.
TD, thanks so much for your input. I know you’ve been in OB for over a decade now (at least I think). Is it getting worse?
Back in the heyday of the 1970s it was the renters who cared the most about OB, who organized the various community groups and then mobilized thousands of OBceans in 1976 to vote in the first election of the OB Planning Board.
Of course, this was before the massive numbers of short term rentals that have literally taken over corners of the neighborhood.
There’s lots of “clean-ups” in OB but I think they focus on the beaches and not the streets and alleys.
92 was my first visit. Moved to OB in 97, and to Canada in 2012. Have visited once or more every year other than 2 COVID and Trump 2.0 years.
Personally, these are not changes that have registered with me. The 5000 block of Newport at 2am was always rowdy. The drug scene, particularly meth, was always something visible.
What has changed is the number of people living outside and fentanyl. The level of deaperation and distress experienced by some fentanyl users is visible, and scary when someone ODs in a public space (never seen that in OB). But this is not specific to OB, its the same downtown, same in Vancouver, same all the way North next to Alaska. I have not noticed those issues getting any worse in OB relative to other places on the West Coast.
What stands out to me is the percentage of vacation rentals, and the housing costs. In the 90’s Mission Beach felt less like a community to me and more like a tourist destination. OB feels like it has moved in that direction.
Seeing places I uses to live that have become vacation rentals, a Lambo parked at beachside apartments where Dempseys used to be. The place built on the cliffs at the end of Del Mar Ave. The Strand going from movie theatre to beach tourist store. These are changes that have stood out to me.
Moving, I have gravitated to communities that are like OB. Walkable, diverse, tolerant, artistic, a place where people talk to their neighbors and get involved.
As a long time (40 plus years) OB resident, my observations regarding the current state of OB arise from a combination of the City Administration’s handcuffing the police from employing effective, proactive informant policies, the nearly universal presence of personal video recording devices, and the lack of informal “community policing” provided by concerned citizens. In the not too distant past, concerned and properly trained and equipped OB citizens provided effective deterrence to a lot of the social deviance and petty crime, which is so annoying. Sadly, as time marches on, a lot of these concerned citizens have “aged out” and are no longer able to physically do what they used to do. So what can be done? #1, if you see graffiti, PAINT IT OUT IMMEDIATELY. Every business owner on Newport should make this a top priority. # 2. If you see someone let their dog poop on the sidewalk, tell them to clean it up. # 3 Call (619) 531-2000 every time you see criminal or deviant activity. Just bug the sh*t out of SDPD and the City over the problems in OB. Sadly, direct confrontation of deviant individuals is not a real option anymore, we don’t want to see good OB citizens get in trouble with the criminal authorities for engaging in direct neighborhood protection.
As someone who’s lived in OB since 2013, I see little to no evidence that public safety has gotten worse, at least from my experience. I have never felt unsafe in OB walking anywhere at night. (That said, I don’t typically walk down Newport at midnight on a Monday so I wouldn’t know what it’s like then…) If someone is being loud I just walk over to the opposite side of the street and move on. I’ve also seen a fairly aggressive police response to any aberrant behavior when called, as opposed to say downtown, which is for all intents and purposes seems to be not policed anymore. I am not sure why OB keeps being called out in ways that I don’t recognize at all, given that I live a block from Newport Ave and walk up and down it all the time. I feel significantly more sketched out walking around North Park or downtown at night.
As far as trash, having done a lot of trash pickup in the neighborhood, the vast majority of the trash in the alleys around here is from commercial dumpsters scattering garbage that wasn’t properly bagged when the trash truck dumps them. It would be nice if the city were to address that.
I visited Azucar last Monday. I ordered The Havana sandwich.
Sun was out. Jets blasted by every several minutes. A few weird people cruised by, and one guy completmented me because I was wearing a pink & black shirt.
I spotted no violence. I didn’t notice any cops. No one offered to sell me fentanyl or a derivative. No knives. No guns. I did notice the theater is gone: I saw Easy Rider there in
1978. Lots of bikers in the audience, un-nice & vocal bikers.
Thought I’d share a tidbit.
While I’ve never lived in OB proper, I’ve lived in SD since ’86 and have hung out in OB a lot in all those years. Everything mentioned I’ve see in all those said years. Drug drug deals in the parking lots of the pier AND dog beach . I may or may not have purchased from LSD even tho I was active duty Navy (Dr. Evil pinky finger). I’ve seen some brutal beat downs directly outside of Cheswick’s and also The Sunshine Co and The Tilted Stick. Homeless have always been big presence presence. I really cant say if it’s getting worse so much as newcomers are just unprepared for what to expect. That’s not to say these issues shouldn’t be addressed and just accept things how they are.
O.b is not some special utopia. It is attached to the whole west coast.
My answer is I do not know.
What I do know is it can be a whole lot better.
Butterfly defecating daily on Newport is at the top of the list, Sharae calling people f— nazis and chasing them is a close second. Families not coming downtown is an unacceptable reality.
The OB Community Foundation established the Task Force on Homelessness about 8 months ago, I serve as lead. A brief summary is:
Task Force 2026 Goals:
1. Have a comprehensive plan/system in place to offer services to unsheltered neighbors.
2. Establish a funding mechanism to provide those services, in partnership with other organizations/groups, in order to be able to disband the Task Force within 24 months. (Sept. 2027)
KEY PAGES ON http://www.obtaskforce.com
1. Overview
2. Services
3. Blog
Our aim is to get:
• mental help for the mentally ill
• assistance for those down on their luck
• bunk beds in jail for criminals
—-
We are not trying to:
– get your vote
– save your soul
– make a million dollars
….just trying to make a difference, in the untenable situation we find ourselves in, here in OB.
Join us in this effort if you dare.
http://www.obtaskforce.com
My thoughts are maybe the type of crimes/drugs have changed but I feel like it’s always been there. My Mom tells me stories of how her parents wouldn’t let her go to OB (this would be the 60s) and she wouldn’t let me and my brothers go to OB (in the 90s—shhh, we did anyways). Back then and the early 2000s when I was in high school and college there were trolls and drugs and hippie types. I never felt overly unsafe but I was also always aware of my surroundings. Nowadays when I go it feels the same as always, except seems like more tourists than there used to be. Although I don’t really go there at night so can’t speak to that.
I also believe that women and men have different experiences while walking around OB, esp. at night.