Northern Police Station 1125 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA (415) Weekly Newsletter Tuesday, November 29, 2005

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1 Northern News Geary Corridor Bus Rapid Transit Study: The San Francisco County Transportation Authority and MUNI invite the community to participate in a public workshop to comment on conceptual designs aimed at faster travel times, more reliable service, and improved passenger comfort. Community input is critical, so come and be heard! Meetings are as follows: Tuesday, December 6, 2005, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) 1840 Sutter Buchanan St. (Japanese translation provided). Thursday, December 8, 2005, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Tenderloin Apartments, 201 Turk Jones St. (Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese translation provided) Saturday, December 10, 2005, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (Noon) Self Help for the Elderly Center, nd Geary Blvd. (Chinese and Russian translation provided). More information is available at The San Francisco Police Department is actively recruiting Police Officer Applicants from November 1 until the end of the month. Applications are available at district stations, the Police Academy at 350 Amber Drive, and the Department of Human Resources at 44 Gough St. Applications must be postmarked by November 30, 2005 or hand delivered to the Examination Unit at the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant St., Room # by 5:00 pm, November 30, The Minimum qualifications for the job are: Must be 20 years old by November 30, US Citizen or Permanent Resident. US High School diploma or equivalent. Valid Driver s License. No domestic violence convictions No felony convictions For more information, see the SFPD web site, or call the Examination Unit at (415) to request an application by mail. District Events November and December, Fantasy of Lights, Union St: Coming on December 3rd, Starlight Sing-Along, on December 10th, Let it Snow on Union St, and on December 17th, Ice Sculpting. Details will be forthcoming as they become 1

2 available. Crimes and Law Enforcement Thursday, November 24, 12:53 pm, Burglary Arrest: Officer O Brien and Officer Cabuntala were patrolling the area of van Ness Ave. and Sutter St. They observed a man poking his head through a broken window. When the man saw the officers watching him, he fled. The officers pursued the man and caught him at 1245 Van Ness Ave. His response to the officers when caught, I didn t do it. The man was not particularly original in this response. He was fairly original in his burglary attempt. According to witnesses, the man attempted to burglarize a store by kicking in a large picture window. The man managed to cut himself severely in the process. The officers made the arrest and the man was booked at Northern Police Station. Friday, November 25, 11:34 pm, Vandalism Arrest: In yet another example of things that people do to keep Police Officers employed, Officer Ospital and Officer Kiesel were sent to a report of a man kicking in a window, a seemingly common occurrence recently. This time, the officers saw the man standing in front of the broken window with his hands in his pockets. The officers demanded, What are you doing? The man responded, I broke the window because I need to get money from my bank. The man was quickly arrested and booked at Northern Police Station. He may be responsible to pay the bank money if he is convicted. Saturday, November 26, 12:01 am, Battery Arrest: Officer Barcojo, most recently noted as Officer of the Month for the San Francisco Police Department, and current member of Central Station, was working in the Northern District with Sgt. Flaherty. As they drove on Fillmore St. at Moulton Alley, the officers observed a man grab a woman and shout at her. Deciding to investigate, the officers got out of their car and approached the couple. The man, immediately hostile to the officers, said, Mind your own business. He pushed the woman away violently. The officers told the man to stay where he was as they intended to arrest him for battering the woman. The man said, We don t need you here. %$#@ you. The man started to back away. Unfortunately, he ran into a car and fell to the ground. The officers, seeing an opportunity, pounced. The man managed to escape from the officer s grasp and fled down the street. He was caught a short distance later and the fight was on. The man tried to punch and kick the officers. The officers fought valiantly and had to use their pepper spray to subdue the man. The man was arrested and treated for the exposure to pepper spray. The officers spoke with the victim who said the argument was over the victim wanting to go home alone. The man became enraged and argued with the woman as he wished to accompany 2

3 her. The man was booked at Northern Station. Sunday, November 27, 4:10 am, Prostitution Related Arrest: Officer Paulsen and Officer Brennan were working in plain clothes as a part of the Prostitution Abatement Team. They were driving near the intersection of Pine St and Larkin St. They saw a woman they recognized from many past arrests. They observed her for a few moments as she hailed cars and stood in traffic waving at single males. The woman got into one of the cars and the officers followed the car as it left the area. The officers approached the car and found the woman and the driver engaged in a sex act. The woman was arrested booked at County Jail because of the continuing offense. The man was released on citation. Monday, November 28, 11:46 am, Stolen Vehicle Arrest: Officer Zapponi was sent to Fern St. and Larkin St. on a report of a found stolen vehicle. The Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) had located the car and Officer Zapponi was sent to make the recovery. What the DPT Officer did not notice was the Parolee-at-large hiding in the back seat. Officer Zapponi, however, had his radar activated and approached the vehicle with caution. As he approached, he heard the ding sound of a key left in the ignition. Officer Zapponi looked more closely and found a man sleeping on the floor of the back seat area. The arrest was made and the California Department of Corrections made room for the absconding man. He was booked at County Jail. Safety Tip: Holiday Shopping (updated reprint) For some of us, a well-planned holiday shopping season is winding down. For others the shopping will take on a note of urgency the closer we get to our target dates. Whether we pace ourselves in an organized fashion, or fly from destination to destination in a frenzy, we would all like to hold onto our presents once we ve purchased them. The good news is that, in most of us, hunting for the perfect gift may reliably inspire feelings of charity, and compassion. The bad news is that wherever there is money, or credit, there will be those who wish to come by it illicitly. Crimes of larceny shadow our brightest endeavors at this time of year. Be that as it may, we can establish certain precautions that make the chance of a Grinch among us dampening our spirits far less likely. Some of the precautions we take as shoppers overlap with those of other concerns, such as auto burglary, pick pocketing and robbery. We have covered each of these subjects in previous newsletters, and we will summarize a few of their more salient points again in this issue. When you plan to make a day of shopping, carefully estimate how much in the way of checks, credit cards, and cash that you will need. Leave that which 3

4 you will not require at home. Think about wearing a concealed money belt. If you already have one, use it. Leave your social security number at home. Never travel with it. Identity theft is a common crime during the holiday season. Before you have left the house, make a list of the 24-hour customer service numbers to your cell phone service, bank, and credit cards. If you loose any of them, or if you are the victim of some form of theft, you can call the institutions immediately to cancel the lost or stolen accounts and open up new ones. The sooner you call, the less likely you will be to suffer a serious loss. Keep the list in a place on your person that is separate from your purse or wallet. Over the course of your consumer sojourn, make a point of hanging on to your valuables and walk purposefully between shopping destinations. Trust your instincts. If an area has a reputation for crime, avoid it. Try not to shop alone; bring a friend or two. If you are shopping after dark, park in well lighted areas. If you think someone is following you, seek the nearest populated establishment for help. Anyone carrying a purse should keep it zipped-up, and held tightly under their shoulder. Even so, be forewarned, purse snatches increase in number at this time of year. Those who only carry a wallet should think about keeping it in a front pocket that is zipped-up or buttoned-shut. If you carry a backpack, do not keep valuables in the outside pockets, and buy some luggage-locks to place on double-zippered compartments. As you window shop, be alert. Call it people watching if you must. When you make your purchases put them in plain paper bags, and staple the bags shut. Designer bags not only give away what you may or may not be buying for someone, but also telegraph potentially lucrative targets for theft. Festive as the name-brand shopping bags may be, pickpockets and bag-snatchers gravitate toward them under crowded conditions. Beware of jostling and pushing, especially aboard public transportation. Regard overly friendly or animated strangers with circumspection. Regretfully, such behavior may be used as the prelude to a confidence scheme, or a pickpocket carried out by an unseen third party. Do not overburden yourself with multiple purchases. Cumbersome loads make getting through traffic, and being watchful problematic. If you must leave purchases in your car, lock them in the trunk. Try not to leave anything at all inside your car while it is unattended. If you plan to travel to another location after having made purchases, lock your purchases in the trunk before you leave. Never lock something inside your trunk and just walk away. Opportunist burglars watch for shoppers who do this, and boost the vehicle the minute the victim is out of sight. Park in attended lots whenever possible. If you must give parking valets or attendants the key to your car, give them the key to the ignition only, and lock the trunk release where possible. Do not leave anything inside your car visible to passers by. Even valueless objects give persistent auto 4

5 burglars the impression that the owner is careless and may have left something behind. Never leave your vehicle running with the keys in the ignition, even briefly. Too many cars are stolen every day in this manner. Remember that as you conduct your business, you always have a friend in the SFPD. The Safe Shopper program is under way. Uniformed officers will be available in all of the city s popular shopping locations. Should you require their assistance, you may reach them at either our non-emergency number, (415) , or for emergencies at If you are calling from a cell phone, and you dial 9-1-1, you may get CHP in Sacramento. Our last little tip would be for you to program your cell phone with the seven-digit number for San Francisco Police Emergency, (415) Happy Shopping, and happy holidays! Phone Numbers and Web Sites San Francisco Police Department: Emergency: SFPD s Website: SFPD Anonymous Tip Line: (415) (A person, not an answering machine will answer this tip line) SFPD on-line reports: and click on the link for on-line reports. Police Communications, non-emergency: (415) Northern District Police Station: Main phone number: (415) Northern Station s Web Page: and link to Northern Station. Captain Dillon s Kevin_Dillon@ci.sf.ca.us Northern District Anonymous Tips Hotline: (415) Northern District Quality of Life & Homelessness Issues: Call (415) or (415) & ask for Officer Dave Householder or Officer Bryan Watkins. Police/Community Relations Forum, questions and suggestions: at sandrabolden252@yahoo.com Northern Station Environmental Crimes, Code Enforcement Task Force: (415) Note: We continue to develop the list for our newsletter. Anyone wishing to receive copies of the newsletter is welcome. Please Captain Kevin Dillon with your request and comments at Kevin_Dillon@ci.sf.ca.us 5