Criminal watch: March–April 2010

In August 2009, San Francisco got a new police chief, and those of us in the Marina were lucky enough to get a new neighbor. George Gascón has brought two very simple principles to San Francisco. Many of us think these principles are obvious, but some of our local politicians are having a hard time understanding them.

The principles are:
1. The job of the Police Department is to enforce the law.
2. The job of the police chief is to manage the Police Department.

One of Chief Gascón’s first initiatives was to implement CompStat, a computerized system for collecting and analyzing crime statistics, which has a proven track record of reducing crime and improving police operations in such cities as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, and Los Angeles. The CompStat information is not only used by SFPD to manage operations and allocate resources, but they have made it available to any citizen who has a computer.

By going to the Police Department section of www.sfgov.org, you can look at reported crimes for the Marina or any other neighborhood. A report shows you the date and type of crime and a map shows you the location of the crime.

I recently looked at reported crimes in the Marina for the 30 days preceding April 9. I was able to see that there was one assault, five burglaries, 21 acts of larceny or theft, one robbery, three acts of vandalism and one vehicle theft.

The crime map showed me that the assault was on March 22 on Fillmore Street, outside the Marina Middle School. I was also able to see that three of the five burglaries occurred on March 30. Many of the acts of larceny are thefts from vehicles, and the Police Department would like your help in protecting your own property. The following tips might help prevent you from becoming a target.

• Don’t leave any valuables inside your vehicle.
• Lock all valuables in your trunk before arriving at your destination.
• Lock all vehicle doors and windows.
• Do not leave dash or windshield mounted GPS systems in the vehicle.
• Do not leave removable stereo systems in the vehicle.
• Do not leave cell phones in your vehicle.
• Call the police if you see someone tampering with a vehicle.
• Report a crime in progress by dialing 911.
• If the crime has already occurred, report it to 415-553-0123.

The Police Department is working hard to protect your property, so please help them by following these tips.

Alan Silverman is a Marina resident and board member of the Marina Community Association.