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SFPD: phone and device users are frequent robbery victims; department to launch outreach
Summary
A Bay Area real‑time crime center review found 60% of robbery victims were using phones or similar devices when attacked; SFPD plans press outreach and community education, and commissioners urged partnerships with transit and translated materials.
Lance Hebelin, director of the Bay Area Regional Information Crime Center, told the Police Commission that a three‑month review of 662 robbery reports showed a strong pattern of victim behavior the department says is preventable.
"Sixty percent of the incidents involve people actively using either iPhones, iPods, or similar devices at the time of the robbery," Hebelin said, noting victims distracted by personal electronics were disproportionately targeted. He…
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