Yesterday, after SFist asked why the San Francisco murder rate in 2009 has been so low, the Examiner answered: Mayor Gavin Newsom.

While the city almost hitting 50 at the same time last year, in 2009 San Francisco played host to a mere 20 homicides at the end of May. The reason for the dip in murder? Increased enforcement, a citywide gang sting that toppled groups (e..g, Mara Salvatrucha, Jets, MS-13, Sharks), and "more aggressive prosecution for stemming the flow of homicides."

The Police Department’s zone strategy, concentrating enforcement in The City’s most violent neighborhoods — including Bayview-Hunters Point, Mission, Western Addition, Tenderloin and Visitacion Valley — has resulted in a dramatic decrease in murders, Newsom said. The strategy was born from an analysis that showed most homicides were fueled by drugs and gangs, and that both killers and victims were likely to be on parole or probation. The plan hinges on working alongside state parole agents and The City’s Probation Department.

And in a strange remark, Director of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, Kevin Ryan, bragged, "It’s not really nuclear physics ... We’re in the high-crime areas, we’re arresting these guys and we’re holding them accountable through the courts. It’s created an environment where these guys are off the streets."

Great. And said easy, breezy lesson in crime fighting, it seems, only works when Newsom runs for higher office. But better late than never, right? Right.