Central Station captain outlines stepped-up enforcement on Broadway party buses, auto thefts and senior scams

Captain Garrett Tom, commanding officer of San Francisco Police Department’s Central Station, told the Police Commission at a community meeting Aug. 29 that his office will press enforcement and community outreach to address rising nuisance and violent incidents tied to party buses on Broadway, a surge in auto thefts and a wave of frauds targeting Asian seniors.

Tom described the Central District as a compact but high-demand area — about 1.8 square miles with roughly 75,000 residents that can swell to roughly 350,000 people during the day — and said the district has been stretched by a combination of large public events and recurring weekend disturbances. “Party buses are a big, they play a big part,” Tom said, describing buses that drop off heavily intoxicated patrons who then disperse into nearby residential blocks.

Why it matters: Community members from North Beach, Telegraph Hill and Chinatown told commissioners they fear the spillover of late-night disorder into residential neighborhoods. Several residents urged targeted, practical solutions such as mid-block barricades and better coordination with the district attorney’s office to ensure citations lead to prosecution.

What officials plan to do: Commander Mike Beale outlined operational steps the department will take in the near term: increase night-watch staffing at Central Station by about five officers (raising the night share from roughly 25% to 30%), run DUI checkpoints focused on the Broadway corridor for the next two weekends and redeploy violence-reduction plainclothes teams and checkpoints when needed. “We’re going to increase our staffing on a night watch over at Central Station from 25% of his officers to 30%,” Beale said, adding that the department will also consider visual deterrents such as paddy wagons and borrow squads from other districts when necessary.

Captain Tom described past enforcement: he said the department recently ran a checkpoint on Broadway that led to arrests and that the station has made multiple arrests tied to auto thefts; he noted that older model vehicles remain easy targets and that about 90% of stolen vehicles are recovered quickly. On scams aimed at older Chinese residents, Tom said the department has run Cantonese-language outreach, set up a tip line and created a small task force with bilingual investigators to follow leads.

Community requests and DA coordination: Community advisory board members asked the commission to verify whether the district attorney prosecutes citations for vagrancy and related offenses near Washington Square and to consider bundling multiple infractions to strengthen prosecutions. Captain Tom named Marissa Rodriguez as the DA assigned to the station and said he has met with DA staff about enforcement plans. Commissioners recommended pursuing stay-away orders and a collaborative meeting with DA staff to seek sustained prosecutorial follow-through.

Next steps and timeline: The commission and police leadership said they will convene follow-up meetings with neighborhood groups, review Mr. Butler’s traffic-engineering barricade proposal and continue the outreach and training program to reduce senior-targeted scams. The commission announced its next meeting for Sept. 12 at City Hall, Room 400.

The meeting closed with a motion to adjourn, which passed by voice vote.