Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Crime Statistics topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chief and OCC director report: violent crime down citywide; Mission District shootings prompt increased patrols
Summary
SFPD reported an 11% year-to-date drop in violent crime and continuing declines in property crime; the OCC said February saw 51 complaints received and 75 closed, with pending-case counts discussed and a reduction in investigator staffing noted.
At the March 16, 2011 meeting the San Francisco Police Department reported citywide declines in serious crime even as commissioners pressed the department for more neighborhood-level detail after a spate of shootings in the Mission District.
Chief (SFPD) said overall Part I crimes were flat and violent crime was down 11% compared with the same period last year; comparing the last four weeks to the prior four weeks, violent crime was down 20%, property crimes down 11% and overall Part I crimes down 12%. The chief said shooting victims this year were 41 versus 47 last year.
Captain Krause and department representatives told the commission a spike of violent incidents late last year had subsided but that a shooting two nights earlier on Sixteenth Street led to increased patrols in hot spots and reassignment of plainclothes and radio-car units. Captain Krause said four of the five recent victims were not gang members and that investigators were not yet able to corroborate a gang motive.
Office of Citizen Complaints Director Joyce Hicks presented OCC case statistics for JanuaryFebruary 2011: "In February, the OCC received 51 complaints and closed 75," she said, and she reported that as of Feb. 28, 2011 the OCC had 415 pending cases. Director Hicks also said the office had opened 150 cases and closed 178 as of the meeting date, with 10 sustained findings (a 6% sustain rate) and 12 mediations (7% of closed cases). She attributed some decreases in intake to fewer arrests and a temporary reduction in investigator staffing.
Public commenters and oversight advocates urged better documentation and faster responses to OCC complainants; Ray Hartz of San Francisco Open Government pointed to decreased investigator staffing and criticized the quality and timeliness of some case letters.
Commissioners requested neighborhood-level comparative statistics and follow-up on DNA-testing timelines, testing backlogs and patrol-special oversight at future meetings.
