SFPD Lt. Bruce Delahunty addressed concerns raised by District 5 residents convened at the Korean American Community Center on Monday over a recent uptick in violent crimes. Photos by Ginny Cummings.
November 6, 2013
Public officials including Supervisor London Breed, SFPD Lieutenant Bruce Delahunty and Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, gathered Monday with community members at the Korean American Center in District 5 to address public safety concerns following a recent spate of violent crimes in the area.
A triple shooting on the 400 block of Rose Street on October 14 left two injured and one dead. Video surveillance obtained by police identified a vehicle involved in what police suspect was a drive-by shooting. Police are working to gain leads but have yet to determine if the shooting was gang related. Nine rival street gangs are clustered in a 20 block radius of the Western Addition neighborhood, including the Page Street gang located close to the location of the Rose Street triple shooting.
The Pampered Girl salon, located at 225 Gough Street in Hayes Valley, recently experienced what police are describing as a “takeover.” A man dressed in black entered the salon at noon on Saturday and robbed three customers at gunpoint. The gunman, who remains at large, escaped with cell phones, wallets and other valuables.
A young man in a wheelchair was struck and killed by a car at the entrance to the 101 Highway on-ramp at the intersection of Market Street and Octavia Boulevard a few minutes after midnight on November 3. The victim was reportedly in the crosswalk when he was struck. The driver remained on scene. Police are reviewing footage of a recently installed video surveillance camera at the dangerous intersection to determine the cause of the accident.
Car break-ins are up 12 percent over last year despite an 80 percent increase in arrests, Lt. Delahunty said. Prime locations for these break-ins include the Palace of Fine Arts and a parking garage on Pierce Street in the Marina District. One arrest led to the retrieval of a trove of stolen goods but the alleged thief was not charged by the district attorney’s office due to lack of evidence and had to be released from custody, Delahunty said. To avoid being victimized, residents and visitors are urged not to leave any valuables inside their cars and to avoid openly placing valuables inside the trunks of their cars and to be aware of their surroundings before doing so. Delahunty also urged residents to report any suspicious individuals or activity to police.
Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi was invited to address the community to explain his department’s role in reducing crime.
Mirkarimi previously served as District 5 Supervisor from 2004 to 2012 when homicides and gun violence reached alarming rates in his District and the city. To address the problem, Mirkarimi championed citywide community policing legislation mandating SFPD officers to walk foot patrols.
For Mirkarimi, the Sheriff’s Department provides a platform for reducing crime via the reduction of recidivism rates.
“Where incarceration is the intersection of so many wrongs in an inmate’s life, historically within the prison system, opportunities proved few in providing the ex-offender hope through a working skill,” Mirkarimi said. “A main nexus to improving public safety is working to not see an inmate return to our custody – we are making significant inroads on this front.”
San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi.
The next public safety meeting will be held Monday, December 2nd at the Korean American Center on 745 Buchanan Street, and is open for all to attend.
The Hunger Site
November 6, 2013 at 3:14 pm
When Mirkarimi was D5 sup he proposed police walked a beat. Due to a lack of police at that time this was not possible, the concept is a very workable one in reducing crime, and making people feel safer.