Hello All,
I am amazed by how quickly we are moving through 2016. As May comes to an end so will the school year and with that, many graduations. It is an exciting time for many students as the summer is upon them. For all the parents who have children graduating from high school, please take a moment to discuss with them to not drink and drive. I have two teenagers and I believe it’s important to have these conversations with them that may be relevant to situations they may be exposed to. As we all know with graduations, there comes parties and with those parties we often see underage drinking. Please remind your teenagers to never get into a vehicle with a driver who has been drinking and to never drive their own vehicle, even if they have only one drink. Remind them if they find themselves in that situation, you are only a phone call away to get them home safely. In my experience, I have learned when you assure your teenagers that you are an option to them; they will use that option and get home safely! A reminder as well, for those hosting parties, it is illegal to supply alcohol to the under aged. If you make the decision to do so, remember you too can be liable for any consequences that may come of that.
Congratulations to all the graduates and please be safe in your celebration of this milestone in your life.
Many of you have asked me how we are looking at Taraval for staffing of officers and if you could voice your desire to have more officers at Taraval. Currently at Taraval, we are seeing a slight but consistent increase with our staffing level. As more classes graduate, I am confident we will see that number slowly increase. For the officers we have right now at Taraval Station, they are doing a great job. Despite the challenges they have faced, these officers have not skipped a beat. If anything I have witnessed their commitment to the community, the department and to each other grow stronger. In the months of Nov and December of 2015 and in January 2016, we saw our numbers grow in the area of burglaries and theft from vehicles. With the thoughtful strategic deployment of uniformed officers, continued investigations by TNT, Taraval SIT and the partnerships we have formed with the community we are seeing a decrease in these types of crimes in recent months. For example, in March, we had 154 incidents of theft from a vehicle and in April, we saw a decrease to 111. Just in the first 15 days of May, we have only seen 33 incidents. I attribute the decrease to a higher uniformed presence in specific areas, on specific days and at specific times of the day. Another important strategy is to conduct undercover operations not only by our Taraval resources but also by the department’s plainclothes resources coming into the district to work with us. Finally, we have seen tremendous support by residents who are now aware of these types of crimes and are calling them in when they identify a subject acting suspiciously. We recently made two arrests of subjects who have been in possession of stolen property. In these two cases, both were the result of residents calling in and describing the suspicious actions of these suspects. Officers were able to arrive on scene quickly to detain the subjects and to begin an investigation. I know some residents are uncertain about the role they want to play in their neighborhood’s safety and that is understandable. For those of you who have made the decision to be part of your neighborhood safety, “Thank you!” We will always be more successful when we can work in partnership with the community we serve.
Another case I would like to highlight is a case which was investigated by Sgt Kevin Healy of Taraval SIT. Two burglaries had occurred, one was at the 1500 block of Taraval and the second was at the 700 block of Taraval. Thanks to the excellent work of Officer Michael Pheng, video evidence was retrieved which documented the same subject committing both burglaries. During the burglary at the 700 block of Taraval, the suspect stole petty cash and lottery tickets. When the suspect attempted to cash these lottery tickets, more video evidence was retrieved that had clear images of the suspect. Sgt Healy was able to identify the suspect who committed both burglaries. Sgt Healy was able to obtain a search warrant for the subject’s residence. During that search warrant, he recovered a large amount of crack cocaine and several used lottery tickets. The subject was arrested on 2 counts of burglary in which the District Attorney’s office rebooked on charges for prosecution. The subject, Delbert Young, has priors for burglary. This are the types of investigations and arrests that I believe are contributing to our decrease in property crime. Let me say also, I firmly believe the decrease we are seeing in the Taraval is based on a citywide effort by officers to identify these prolific subjects, apprehend them and present strong investigations to assist with prosecution.
On Saturday, May 21st, two residents who own a business on Ocean Ave and reside on 27th Ave, were followed home by two subjects. Once the residents were in the garage, the suspects followed them inside into the residence. The suspects then barricaded the victims in a room while they went to search out a safe. This type of home invasion crime can be one of the scariest types of crimes out there. Taraval SIT is working hard to obtain investigative leads that would lead to the identity of these suspects. For your safety, if you are a business owner and you are heading home at the end of the day, be aware of who may be behind you. I would recommend detouring slightly from your normal path that leads you home. Take a few extra turns so you can spot a vehicle that may be following you. If you think you are being followed, call 911 and drive to the closest police station. This advice rings true for all residents. Do not hesitate in calling and do not second guess yourself. If you think there is something suspicious, it most likely is. We would much rather have you call the police and have it be nothing, than to not call and find that it was something we could have helped to prevent.
On a daily basis, officers are recovering suspected stolen property from subjects. One of the biggest challenges facing the officers is being able to connect that piece of property to an owner. If you have the ability to put your first initial and last name on your property, especially electronic devices that could really assist us in these types of investigations. For example, on your iphone or ipad, if your locked screen is an image of your name, we have the ability to conduct a computer query of your name and if you’ve made a report, we can get your property back to you.
Update: As mentioned in my last captain’s message on May 10th, we had a traffic collision which took the life of a pedestrian. As part of the investigation of the collision, which took place on Junipero Serra and Brotherhood Way, it was determined that the pedestrian crossing area needed some engineering improvements. This week I received notifications from Commander Ann Mannix, assigned to SFMTA, and Board of Supervisor Norman Yee that the improvement should be completed within the next couple weeks. Thank you SFMTA and Supervisor Yee for the quick response to our neighborhood’s concerns.
With Acting Chief of Police Toney Chaplin leading the way for reform in the department, many of you have asked about the Acting Chief. I wanted to take a quick moment to give you a little background on Acting Chief Chaplin. He has been a member of the San Francisco Police Department for 26 years. As an officer, he was assigned to Taraval Station from 1991-1993 and a second time from 1996-1999. During these years, he was assigned to the Taraval Neighborhood Team (TNT), and he was an intricate part of community relations in the OMI during a time when the neighborhood was plagued with violence and drugs. The mission of TNT was to work closely with the community to improve quality of life and to be a consistent visible presence for the residents. Acting Chief Chaplin was known by the community for his hard work, commitment to residents and for always prioritizing how he engaged with the community. I know Acting Chief Chaplin to be smart, compassionate and dedicated to improving the police department not only for the community but for the officers who serve so selflessly every day and night. As a city and as a department, I believe we are fortunate to have Acting Chief Chaplin in this role.
On Friday, May 20th, the officers of Taraval Station were treated to a special lunch provided by Taraval CPAB members. The Taraval CPAB is committed to supporting the officers on a daily basis and they thought it was important to take a day and show the officers their appreciation with “Police Appreciation Day”. All three watches were able to enjoy a delicious meal supplied through the generosity of the CPAB. CPAB members joined officers to say thank you for all they do. We were also joined by Board of Supervisors Katy Tang and Norman Yee. Both Supervisor Tang and Supervisor Yee acknowledged the officers with kind words and a certificate of appreciation by the Board of Supervisors. The officers of Taraval Station sincerely appreciated the day and are thankful for the continued support they receive from so many citizens. Thank you again Taraval CPAB members, Marc Christiansen, Al and Mary Harris, Charles Head, John Hughes, Vi Huyng, Elise Stupi, Tom Zimberoff, John Zwolinski and Wesley Chu. Also, a special thanks to Sgt Kevin Mannix in assisting the CPAB with planning of the event.
In closing, I would like to say I am truly honored to be the Captain of Taraval Station. I am constantly impressed not only by the officers of Taraval but by the community as well. Thank you for working in partnership with me in my role as Captain. We are in this together! Please if you have any questions, concerns or comments for me contact me at Denise.flaherty@sfgov.org or by calling Taraval Station at 415-759-3100