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Taraval Station reports rise in residential burglaries, outlines community policing steps
Summary
Taraval Station commanding officer told the Police Commission that residential burglaries in the district have increased and described targeted daytime enforcement, plainclothes operations and community outreach to address the trend; residents at the meeting urged more patrols and support for the neighborhood TNT unit.
Captain Curtis Lum, commanding officer of the Taraval Station, told the San Francisco Police Commission on April 25, 2012, that the district is seeing an increase in residential burglaries and outlined steps the station is taking to respond.
Lum, speaking at a community meeting at Taraval Station, said the station uses CompStat mapping to identify clusters and focuses enforcement on those areas. "Residential burglaries are happening during the daytime," he said, describing a pattern in which suspects ring doorbells and, if no one answers, pry open doors or break windows. He said targeted plainclothes operations and daytime enforcement patrols are part of the station's strategy and that "we're up 230% in burglary arrests this year to date." Lum added that plainclothes operations are difficult because there are few people out during the day to serve as ordinary observers.
The captain also reviewed station staffing and community programs. He described the Taraval neighborhood teams, a Community Police Advisory Board that helps sort and distribute targeted email crime alerts, a Friday crime newsletter, and a partnership with community groups that produces flyers and localized prevention materials. Lum said about eight officers speak Cantonese, two speak Mandarin and several others speak Tagalog, Korean and Spanish, and that the station uses the language line when needed.
Residents at the meeting described the local impact of the thefts and urged more visible enforcement. Mary Anne Zamarripa, a Sunset resident, asked what neighborhoods can do to "bring us together and unify us" so residents can help prevent burglaries. Dave Cherry, who said he lives near West Portal School, told the commission that morning and afternoon traffic and drivers cutting through neighborhoods create hazards for children and called for more enforcement around school pickup times.
Commissioners asked follow-up questions about language access, the gender balance among officers and whether the CPAB's materials are available in Chinese and other languages. Lum said the station is working to translate materials and is developing a Dropbox repository for crime-prevention tips to share with residents once finalized.
The commission did not take a formal vote on station staffing during the meeting; multiple public commenters asked that the Taraval Neighborhood Team (TNT) retain a dedicated sergeant and complete staffing to maintain proactive coverage.
The commission will track Taraval Station's burglary figures and community outreach work through subsequent reports and district visits.
