Hello Bernal crime-watchers! The ever-vigilant Neighbor Sarah attended the SFPD’s Ingleside Station Chief’s Meeting this week, and she typed up these hyper-handy summary notes about the latest Bernal Heights crime news. Read on, be smart, and stay safe.
Ingleside Community Meeting, 10/16/12
Captain Tim Falvey led the meeting – timothy.falvey@sfgov.org
CRIME STATISTICS AND TRENDS:
At the end of July, as you may recall, there was a spike in violent crime in the Sunnydale District. Someone was recently charged with two of those homicides. There was also recently a spate of tit-for-tat shootings in the Sunnydale and Lakeview areas – these were two individuals who had an issue with one another. They are gang members, but it does not appear to involve the gangs overall. One of those people was charged with a different homicide, so the police are hopeful that since he has been removed from the equation, this particular set of shootings will cease.
CRIME STATS
Robberies – down 27% from the prior month and down 19% YTD.
Violent crime – down 3% YTD.
Property crimes – down 21% vs prior month, but up 14% YTD. (Burglaries, a subset of property crimes – up 18% YTD.)
Auto thefts – down 44% vs prior month, up 58% YTD. Mostly Hondas and Acuras, model years between 1992 and 1998.
Police are making an effort to catch the auto thieves when they dump the cars (usually in the middle of the night) – they have made a couple of arrests lately. Waiting to see if that has an effect on the number of crimes. If you have an older Honda or Acura, use a Club – it won’t entirely protect your car but will usually cause a thief to move on to the next car.
Captain Falvey encouraged people to register your bikes so that they may be identified when stolen bikes are found. So far, 75 bikes have been registered. You can register your bike here.
Sgt. Josh Kunle (sp?) did some great work that led to significant arrests. A resident reported their custom surfboards had been stolen, and Sgt. Kunle found them on Craigslist. A “purchase” was arranged, and SFPD arrested two or three people.
SFPD also received information from an informant that a buyer was very interested in “secondhand” (ie, stolen) electronics. This buyer was operating at 7th and Market, where stolen goods are often sold, and was re-selling the electronics. The police arrested him and found 175 iPhones, iPads, etc. with him, as well as $4,000. There had been several robberies at Duncan/Diamond Heights recently.
Even though robberies were down overall, iPhones and iPads continue to be stolen. If you’re on MUNI, do NOT sit near the door while you’re using your iPhone or iPad – thieves know exactly how to time the grab just as the doors are closing. The police have done an educational operation on buses telling people this information.
Burglaries have been on the rise, especially in Miraloma Park and Glen Park. I asked about Bernal as well, and it seems all three areas are seeing the same kind of burglary – between 9am and 3pm, often at houses where there’s no house across the street. The burglars will knock on the door to see if anyone is home. If the resident opens the door, the burglar will ask for some random name, then say they have the wrong house and leave. To enter, they typically break in the front door. The police chased one car of burglars on Tuesday on Evelyn at O’Shaughnessy in Miraloma Park, but the burglars got away, though the stolen property was recovered.
Representatives from the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center were there and advised that elderly residents near Precita Park seem to be getting targeted by burglars pretending to be utility workers. You can check to see if PG&E has sent a worker by calling 800-743-5000.
As you may have heard, there was apparently an attempted suicide on Bernal Hill at around 9am on Tuesday, 10/16. The captain said it was behind the gate, up the hill, but he wasn’t sure whether it was the northern or southern gate. He thought the person was still alive and was transported to the hospital, but he had no other details.
NEXT INGLESIDE COMMUNITY MEETING – 11/20/12 at 7pm at Ingleside Station.
