Mission Station captain cites mixed crime trends: overall drop but spike in robberies; police outline enforcement and outreach

Captain Robert Moser, commanding officer at Mission Station, told the San Francisco Police Commission on March 27 that the Mission District has seen mixed crime trends over the past year: an overall decline in part 1 crimes for the first quarter of 2013 but a notable increase in robberies.

"Our part 1 crimes are down almost 20% and our arrests are up almost, over 47%," Moser said, then emphasized a rise in robberies and related enforcement responses. He told the commission and the public that the station has run enforcement operations targeting burglaries, narcotics, motor vehicle theft, Muni crimes and robberies, and is coordinating joint efforts with BART Police, probation and parole to maximize impact.

Why it matters: commissioners and residents raised concern about robberies and high‑volume trouble spots, particularly the intersection of Sixteenth and Mission, which Moser identified as an enforcement focus and a location with high calls for service. He reported that earlier enforcement concentrated on that plaza and that the station has assigned daily beats there and conducted joint operations to address narcotics and violent incidents.

Moser gave a statistics overview for the district: Mission Station serves roughly 91,000 residents in about 2.7 square miles; the station has about 152 sworn personnel assigned, including 123 officers. He said mission officers seized 112 guns during the prior year and detailed part 1 crime breakdowns and arrest patterns. On seasonal prevention and youth engagement, Moser described bike theft workshops hosted with community partners and a gang intervention pilot at James Lick Middle School that included family engagement.

Commissioners pressed for detail on the robbery spike and on why Tuesdays showed peak call volume. Moser attributed much of the robbery increase to thefts of portable electronics and said operations include decoy purchases of phones, targeting buyers and sellers on the secondary market, and sustained emphasis on broken‑windows and code‑enforcement measures to deter repeat problems. "That's one of the areas that we are looking on and and working towards enforcement is stolen property and really going after the individuals that are buying and selling these electronic devices," he said.

Community members at the meeting offered both praise and concerns. Merchants and neighborhood groups repeatedly thanked Mission Station for steady event coordination and beat coverage, while other residents reported drive‑by shootings and requested more patrols in particular blocks. The commission asked the captain to supply additional data, including traffic and accident statistics, which Moser said he could provide to members.

The presentation followed a citywide update from Chief Gregory Pitzer, who told the commission the mayor’s office and department planned to increase a summer jobs initiative from 5,000 to 6,000 positions and described technology awards that aided investigations.

Next steps: commissioners asked staff to return with more granular crash and pedestrian/bicycle statistics and to schedule follow‑ups on mental health and CIT training. No new policy or formal action on station operations was approved at the meeting.