San Antonio

=== Crime ===
[[File:San Antonio Police Officers.jpg|thumb|San Antonio police officers]]
Crime in San Antonio began to rise in the early 1980s, similar to many urban areas in the US. In 1983 San Antonio had the tenth highest homicide rate in Texas with 18.5 homicides per 100,000 residents.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/17/us/7-texas-cities-are-in-top-20-in-murder-per-capita.html ''7 Texas Cities are in Top 20 in Murder per Capita'']; New York Times online; accessed April 2017</ref> The number of juveniles arrested in San Antonio for violent crimes tripled between 1987 and 1994, according to the Texas Law Enforcement Management and Administration Statistics Program. The number of youths arrested for unlawfully carrying firearms doubled over the same period.

In 1993, San Antonio earned the nickname the "Drive-By City" after the [[San Antonio Police Department]] recorded over 1,200 drive-by shootings, or an average of about 3.5 per day, which overshadowed the number in other Texas cities. A majority of the violence occurred on the east and west sides of the city, especially in areas with high poverty rates. Gang violence led to the deaths of their members and sometimes innocent bystanders, and housing projects such as the [[Alazán-Apache Courts]] served as hubs for various groups, which sometimes included rival gangs.<ref>[http://www.sacurrent.com/sanantonio/drive-by-city-remembering-san-antonio-gang-violence-in-the-1990s/Content?oid=2509008 ''"Drive-by City;" Remembering San Antoinio Gang Violence in the 1990s'']; SA Current; online; retrieved April 2017</ref> By the end of 1993 the city hit a peak in homicides with 230 killings, the highest since 1991 when 211 were killed.<ref>[https://apnews.com/a1b8a394931f8033249fd2f31f9ec951 ''Once Again Homicide Records Fall in Many Big Cities'']; Associated Press News Archive online; accessed April 2017</ref>

In 2016, the number of murders hit 151, the highest toll in 20 years. A majority of the San Antonio homicide victims were Hispanic and African American men between ages 18 and 29. According to a study, 40% of the killings were either drug-related or domestic incidents.<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/san-antonio-records-151-homicides-in-2016-most-in-2-decades/ ''San Antonio Records 151 Homicides in 2016; Most in 2 Decades'']; CBS Local news, online; accessed April 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Homicides-in-S-A-hit-a-21-year-high-Why-10829542.php ''Homicides Hit a 21 Year High; Why?'']; My San Antonio online; accessed April 2017</ref> In 2020, San Antonio ranked the fourth U.S. city with the biggest increase in homicides.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Salinas|first=Rebecca|date=August 6, 2020|title=Report: San Antonio ranks 4th among U.S. cities with biggest increase in homicide rates in 2020|url=https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020/08/06/report-san-antonio-ranks-4th-among-us-cities-with-biggest-increase-in-homicide-rates-in-2020/|access-date=December 14, 2020|website=KSAT|language=en}}</ref> From January–June 2020, there were 71 homicides according to the San Antonio Police Department. In 2019, there were 53 reported homicides in contrast. A total of 105 homicides occurred in 2019 in the city. According to ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', homicide rates were relatively low compared to previous decades.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hilsenrath|first=Jon|date=August 2, 2020|title=Homicide Spike Hits Most Large U.S. Cities|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/homicide-spike-cities-chicago-newyork-detroit-us-crime-police-lockdown-coronavirus-protests-11596395181|access-date=December 14, 2020|issn=0099-9660| archive-url= https://archive.today/20210912010357/https://www.wsj.com/articles/homicide-spike-cities-chicago-newyork-detroit-us-crime-police-lockdown-coronavirus-protests-11596395181|archive-date=September 12, 2021}}</ref>