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Southern Station captain lays out crime trends, community policing and targeted enforcement
Summary
Captain Michael Redmond told the Police Commission that Southern Station covers 2.9 square miles and about 26,145 residents, described declines in robberies and increased traffic enforcement, and outlined community programs — including the Sixth Street safety hub, homeless outreach and youth engagement — as central to the station’s strategy.
Captain Michael Redmond told the San Francisco Police Commission on April 23 that the Southern Police District has changed from an industrial area into a mixed entertainment and residential district and now covers about 2.9 square miles and roughly 26,145 people. He said new development, the ballpark and special events have increased demands on officers and described the station’s efforts to meet them through foot beats, a safety hub on Sixth Street and partnerships with community groups.
Redmond emphasized enforcement and prevention: he said robberies in the downtown area fell from as many as 60–70 at the start of last year to roughly 38 in the current month and credited concentrated foot-beat deployment and improved information-sharing. He also highlighted a rise in traffic enforcement, with nearly 1,000 citations per month in recent months, and urged drivers and pedestrians to use caution: “If everybody would just slow down, pay attention when you’re crossing the street,” he said.
The captain described specialized units and training that feed into the district’s strategy: homeless outreach officers who coordinate with SF HOT and the Department of Public Health; plainclothes and investigative teams that carry high caseloads and assist other districts; DRE (drug recognition expert) and CIT (crisis intervention team) officers trained to respond to mental-health calls; and hostage-negotiation officers who work with crisis-intervention personnel on suicidal or barricade incidents.
Redmond detailed community-oriented programs used to prevent crime and build relationships. He described the Sixth Street safety hub’s role in coordinating foot-beat officers and community ambassadors, a “coffee with the foot beats” outreach event, a clean-streets program run from the hub, a cell-phone-safety campaign to reduce thefts, and youth programs including a flag-football event that involved more than 300 children. He said those programs are intended to “bring the community together” and to focus on problem-solving rather than simply moving problems to other districts.
On staffing and workload, Redmond noted Southern handles a markedly higher volume of calls for service than other districts (he reported more than 30,000 calls in the first quarter) and that investigators handle dozens of rebookings and many assigned cases per month. He described adjustments to foot-beat hours and deployment to match the times and places where incidents occur, and said the station will continue to concentrate resources in Mid‑Market and Sixth Street, where retail theft, pedestrian incidents and nightlife-related assaults have been persistent problems.
The presentation closed with praise from multiple public commenters and partners, including the district attorney’s office, for the station’s community-policing approach. Redmond said he will remain engaged with advisory-board members and community partners as the station implements the measures discussed.
The commission’s next steps include continued oversight and a May 7 meeting at City Hall that will address a pedestrian-and-bicycle-safety resolution connected to these issues.
