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Northern Station captain outlines staffing, crime trends and community programs as chief reports two recent homicides
Summary
At a July 19 Police Commission community meeting at Northern Station, the station commanding officer reviewed staffing, training and neighborhood outreach; Chief William Scott reported two recent homicides and said the department plans to reach roughly 1,971 sworn officers by year-end and is deploying for the San Francisco Marathon.
Captain John Hemarena, identified on the agenda as the commanding officer of Northern Station, told the San Francisco Police Commission at a July 19 community meeting that Northern Station’s boundaries and staffing have changed since 2015 and described a range of community-engagement efforts and training initiatives.
Captain Hemarena said Northern Station gained territory and about 16,000 residents after a 2015 boundary change, and reported a station staffing figure of 121 officers. He described the station’s investigations unit (one lieutenant, seven sergeants and a civilian), specialized training (including field training officers and 61 Crisis Intervention Team-trained officers) and outreach programs such as Coffee with a Cop, school resource officers and neighborhood barbecues. “We work closely with our crime analysis unit, with ComStat, with mapping,” he said, describing efforts to place officers where data shows crime is concentrated.
Chief William Scott reported two major incidents that week: a homicide at Twin Peaks in which “a 71 year old San Francisco resident was killed during a robbery,” and a separate killing in Bayview in which police arrested a 17-year-old suspect. “We have our homicide detail investigating that case,” Chief Scott said, and added that police had made an arrest in the Bayview case and were continuing the investigation.
Chief Scott also said the department held an academy graduation with at least 35 cadets and is aiming to restore sworn staffing toward an established target. “We hope to be to that 1,971 sworn officers full time equivalent by the end of the year,” he said. He flagged the San Francisco Marathon as an upcoming large event for which the department had set deployments and was coordinating road closures and public-safety information.
Commissioners asked about jurisdictional responsibility at Twin Peaks (Chief Scott said management falls under Park and Recreation and that SFPD is coordinating patrols with park rangers) and about camera coverage; Chief Scott said cameras exist at Twin Peaks but the department is assessing their effectiveness. Commissioners also queried the captain about trends in assaults linked to nightlife; Captain Hemarena described concentrated nightlife in parts of the Northern District and said specialized units investigate those reports.
The captain’s presentation emphasized community-based programs, a stated 10% reduction goal in priority crime categories and continued coordination with neighborhood groups and the district attorney’s office. The commission did not take formal action on these program goals at the meeting. The agenda packet included the minutes from the prior commission meeting for approval, and the commission moved to adopt those minutes before proceeding with reports and presentations.
