The Captain’s View
Happy New Year

January 2012

It seemed like 2011 was a busy year that went by very fast (at least to me, anyway). The officers of Northern Station had another busy year responding to over 26,000 calls for police service. And they on-viewed another 41,000-plus calls. Countless reports were made at the counter of Northern Station as well.

Officers arrested over 2,300 people for various crimes. The crime rate held pretty steady compared to last year: violent crime (homicide, rape, robbery, felony assault) was down 8 percent while property crime (burglary, auto theft, car break-in, other theft) was up 5 percent.

Officers were also busy with outreach to the homeless, working in the schools, patrolling the most violence-prone areas of the district, walking foot beats along commercial corridors, carrying out traffic enforcement, and many other “routine” duties. Additionally, they responded all over the City to help with large events (such as Occupy, demonstrations, parades, concerts, and sporting events).

They performed plainclothes operations that involved crime prevention tasks for street robberies, MUNI crime, car thefts and break-ins, narcotics-related crimes, bike thefts, and more.

Our officers also read to children, attended myriad community events, ran community events, delivered toys, and delivered food to the needy. They raised money for Special Olympics, UCSF Children’s Hospital, Make-a-Wish, and a whole host of other worthy causes. They won the interstation basketball league, and came in a close second in the softball league.

A few officers retired this past year, some went to other stations, some were promoted, and some were injured while making arrests and have yet to return to work.

The officers that serve your community are very dedicated, committed and professional. I predict 2012 will be another busy year for the members (both officers and civilians) of this very active district.

For the coming year, I have a few resolutions for those of you who don’t already protect yourself against possibly becoming a victim.

• Do not leave anything of value visible in your car.

• When walking or riding Muni, be aware of your surroundings and conceal your valuables. And when on Muni, try not to sit near an exit with your “iStuff” readily available.

• When you leave your home, do lock your doors and windows.

• If you live in a multiunit building, be sure you know the person you are buzzing into the building.

• If you own a business, consider installing some sort of video recording device.

• Get to know your neighbors and be each other’s eyes and ears.

If “something isn’t right,” call us and we will come out and investigate – that is what we do, and it is always better to be safe than sorry. And if you think someone else will call, call anyway. Just get us out there.

Finally, if a crime occurs, always report it because if you don’t, how will those that look at the data know. Those “data people” look at the numbers when deploying resources (that would be cops).

For more crime prevention tips go to www.sfsafe.org (our partners in crime prevention).

Until next month, be careful out there!



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