Arm yourself.with knowledge! Captain s Comments After our Police Community Meeting last week I drove away thinking that our district is really a lot like a small town. If given the boundaries of the Central District alone, it would be one of the best and most diverse and vibrant cities in America. We have of course, 65,000 full time residents, many major employers, a tourist industry, 12,000 hotel rooms, major gathering venues such as theatres, retail and entertainment corridors, parks, public squares, a fishing and wharf industry, Chinatown, the financial district, North Beach and a lot more. This month s Sunset Magazine listed the Top 20 Small Towns to Live In; I think they missed one. At the meeting, a little over a dozen concerned citizen s from the neighborhoods gathered to talk about crime statistics and mostly quality of life issues like blight, vandalism/graffiti, homeless related problems and public inebriation. Some of the folks present spoke passionately about those topics. Good, useful information was shared on the subjects discussed. The current economy and the impact it will have on crime and other neighborhood issues were discussed. Volunteerism will be key in filling gaps that may occur with lay offs and attrition due to slowdown or stoppage in hiring in the City workforce. We talked about coordinated volunteer based graffiti clean ups, park clean ups and even when and how to call 911, 311 and the non-emergency 553-0123 phone numbers to police, emergency services and other City agency services. In a time where funds dry up, we encourage you to call to report problems. Calling and making a complaint or report helps us all in the long run. Chronic problems should be considered community policing projects with long term problem solving solutions applied to them. It actually makes sense to spend a little more time and effort towards long term solutions rather than to keep addressing the same problems over and over. Calling service numbers helps us track problems and serves as a chronological history on a problem place or problem people. Some people were trepidatious about calling and having police respond to their door for fear of retaliation. Unfortunately, in some cases, we need a witness who is willing to make an identification on someone who committed a crime, and in some cases we need someone to sign a citizen s arrest form in order for us to make an arrest on a crime not committed in our presence. 1
This can be done in some cases by staying on line with the Emergency Communications Dispatcher and making the identification via window or location other than your home. Remember, this should only be done in extreme cases. You can also be interviewed and sign the citizen s arrest form after the suspect has been taken from the scene in some cases. At the very least, give the best description possible of individuals, actions and vehicles to give the responding officers probable cause to detain suspects related to a crime. DISTRICT 3 TOWN HALL MEETING Supervisor David Chiu will hold his first public gathering with district constituents on February 26th, 2009. The meeting will take place from 6:00 8:00 P.M. at Francisco Middle School, located at 2190 Powell St. This town hall meeting gives residents the opportunity to talk with Supervisor Chiu on a wide variety of legislative issues and voice their opinions on pressing constituent concerns, including parking and traffic, MUNI, construction, and cleaner streets. Supervisor Chiu s office has arranged attendance from representatives from the Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Public Works, MUNI, Parks and Recreation Department, the Department of Public Health, the Planning Department, Public Library and the Mayor s Office of Neighborhood Services. Refreshments will be served. SFGOV Public Safety Blog A new website about the SFPD is now up and running. The website includes information about the whole department and includes highlights and contact information for all ten district stations. The blog, launched by the Mayor s Office of Criminal Justice, can be accessed at: www.sfpublicsafety.com Current Crime Trends Graffiti vandals have scarred North Beach and Chinatown of late. Please call 911 if you see acts of graffiti or other vandalism in progress. Use 311 to report the mess to get it cleaned up asap. There is a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of graffiti vandals of up to $250. Zero Graffiti for a Beautiful City! Save the date: 4/23/09 at 3 PM Look for a coordinated community effort by DPW with the location to be announced. For details on all the ways that citizens can help, contact Merle Goldstone, Public Information Officer with DPW. Her contact info: Merle.Goldstone@sfdpw.org Office 641-2625. 2
Broadway Corridor Friday February 20, 2009 Saturday February 21, 2009 Felony Arrests 1 Felony Arrests 1 Misdemeanor Arrests 1 Misdemeanor Arrests 1 Drunk Related Arrests 1 Drunk Related Arrests 4 Moving Citations 4 Moving Citations 3 Parking Citations 11 Parking Citations 18 Vehicles Towed 10 Vehicles Towed 12 Many related problems were noted this weekend with skirmishes on the 400 and 500 blocks of Broadway between groups of young men. Reports have been sent to the Entertainment Commission for action. In relation to a shooting at a club on Jackson Street last weekend, Officers responded to the 600 block of Jackson at 8:30 PM and found the club to be out of compliance with SFFD and Entertainment Commission standards. The manager was cited. 2/20/09 just before midnight at a club on the 400 block of Broadway, a Walnut Creek man asked the manager to call police because a man next to him at the bar stole his wallet. Officers Mike Bushnell and Rene Nielsen responded and took a 40 year old Berkeley man into custody and recovered the wallet, cash and credit cards. 2/21/09 on the 400 block of Broadway, just before 3 AM, a man from Concord asked a store owner if he could use his restroom, when he was told it was out of order, the man assaulted the store owner. Officer Nelson Yu took the suspect into custody. 2/21/09 at 1:20 AM on the 400 block of Broadway, several officers responded to a large fight inside a small club on the corner. One woman was hit in the head with a liquor bottle and required an ambulance ride to the hospital for a cut on her forehead. 3
2/22/09 at 12:45 AM on the 400 block of Broadway, a club doorman asked to press charges against a would-be patron from Burlingame who was too drunk to be admitted to the club. The suspect spit in the doorman s face and was arrested by officers on the beat. 2/22/09 just before midnight at Broadway and Front Streets, several individuals from San Pablo and Hercules, CA were detained and cited in a vehicle for open containers and minors in possession of alcohol. 2/22/09 at 1:00 AM on the 500 block of Broadway, Officers Tom Costello and Paul Wilgus detained a suspect found in possession of suspected crack cocaine. The man from Sacramento was booked on felony possession charges. Crimes of Note: 2/19/09 and 2/20/09 between 9:30 am and 1 PM, two separate bank robberies occurred at banks in the financial district. The robberies appeared to have been perpetrated by the same suspect described as: a white male between the ages of 50 and 55, 6 1 and approximately 190 pounds wearing a bb or driving cap, glasses, sweatshirt or sweater, blue jeans and a black backpack. Prostitution: On 2/19/09 at 1:30 AM, Officer Matt Sullivan, at Geary and Hyde Streets, made an arrest of a woman prostitute who promised to enhance the encounter with some rock cocaine. The woman was arrested with crack cocaine and found to be on active felony court probation for a previous narcotics arrest. 2/20/09 at 6 PM & 7 PM at a district motel, Vice Inspectors made separate prostitution cases via the internet. The operation was in response to a complaint of prostitution occurring at hotels and motels from outcall services. Graffitti Arrests: 2/20/09 at 1:15 AM on the 1200 block of Larkin Street, Officers Brandon Thompson and McWilliams observed a 21 year old white male suspect spray painting a wall. The suspect was arrested and a spray can was confiscated and photo s were taken of the damage. 2/21/09 at 1 AM, Officers responded to a citizen s arrest on the 700 block of Kearny Street. Security personnel observed an 18 year old man from Corte Madera. The suspect was cited for vandalism and markers and spray cans were confiscated. 4
SAFE stands for Safety Awareness For Everyone and it is a valuable crime prevention organization. Grab and Run Shoplifters have been active of late, especially near our retail areas of the district. Plainclothes officers have made good arrests at locations where patterns of the thefts have occurred. Merchants can help yourselves by being alert, greeting patrons and by checking out the SAFE website for tips on loss prevention. SAFE can also do a security survey and report on businesses and homes. Check them out at www.sfsafe.org. Reward! Check out the www.sfgov.org/police website for rewards for Homicide information, Graffiti information and when giving tips on illegal guns in San Francisco. Rewards are enumerated from $250 for Graffiti to $1,000 for guns to and up to $10,000 or more for information leading to the arrest on some homicides. Traffic Concerns: With the wet weather be sure to keep your hands on the wheel and ears unobstructed. Talking on the cell phone is not advised, but if you must, it must be hands free. Wearing ear buds from MP3 players is also illegal. Central Station Resource List EMERGENCY: 911 Non-Emergency: 553-0123 Cell phone 911: 553-8090 Customer Service Center: 311 Central Station: 315-2400 Web: www.sfgov.org/police 315-2480 james.dudley@sfgov.org Anonymous Tip-Line 392-2623 SAFE 553-1984 www.sfsafe.org Graffiti Abatement 278-9454 Graffiti Fax 278-9456. Central Events: 315-2440 Sergeant John Colla Central Permits: 315-2423 Officer Scott Gaines Code Abatement: 315-2417 Sgt. Mark Hernandez Deputy City Attorney: 554-3820 Jill Cannon Dept. Parking & Traffic: 553-1943 DPW: 695-2020 Dispatch Quality of Life Liaison: 315-2400 Officer Kim Koltzoff 5
Homeless Issues: 315-2400 Off. Jay Shastri or Cathy Daly Chinatown Beat: 315-2400 Off. Leon Sorhondo & Stewart Ng- Days Off. Sam Yuen - Nights Union Square Beat: 315-2400 Officer Carl Payne & Tom Cunnane- Days Officer Ed Carew- Nights Wharf Beat: 315-2400 Officer Noel DeLeon & Bob Merino-Days Officer Tom Costello & Kevin Richins-Nts North Beach 315-2400 Officer Mark Alvarez & Mike Kangrga- Nts Officer Matt Fambrini & Jim Deignan Community Liaison: 421-6443x16 Tel-Hi- Danika Choe Call 3-1-1/TTY: 415-701-2323. If outside of San Francisco, call 415-701-2311/TTY: 415-701- 2323 to reach any of the following: Abandoned Vehicles----DPT Dispatch ----DPW Street Cleaning- ----Graffiti Hotline--Mobile Assistance Patrol (MAP)-----Pothole Repair----Street Signs (missing/damaged)---street Lighting, etc. 311 Goes ONLINE! Log on now on the sfgov.org website to lodge complaints. Megan s Law Website Access: The general public can find out information on sexual predators on line by going to the DOJ website: www.meganslaw.ca.gov or at the SFPD link at www.sfgov.org/police. You may check specific names or zip codes to locate those listed in the database. Join the SFPD: www.sfgov.org/police The Community Police Academy is a 15-week program that meets once a week and is designed to inform and teach interested participants various aspects of municipal policing, including patrol and investigations procedures, vehicle operations, arrest and control techniques, firearm procedures and emergency communications. The Academy s goals are to develop community awareness through education and to develop a closer understanding and working relationship between the San Francisco Police Department and its communities. Members of the community are encouraged to join and learn about the San Francisco Police Department. Participants can ask questions and offer comments within each class. The next class is scheduled to start on February 17, 2009. We now also have a Youth Community Police Academy, geared towards high school students and will last 10 weeks, starting on March 24, 2009. The Community Police Academy participants are selected by the program coordinator after an application process. Enrollment is limited to twenty-five students per class. 6
For more information, including application process, please contact Ms.Lula Magallon at (415) 401-4720 or Officer Maria Oropeza at (415) 401-4701 or visit our website: http://www.sfgov.org/site/police_index.asp?id=80269 766 Vallejo Street SF, CA 94133 415 315-2480 fax 315-2450 7