Residents, merchants and researchers urge using patrol specials and sustained beats to address neighborhood robbery spikes

Residents, merchants, academics and patrol‑special representatives spoke during public comment at the joint hearing, urging expanded and durable foot‑patrol coverage in neighborhoods experiencing spikes in robberies and homicides and calling for a clearer role for the San Francisco Patrol Special Police.

Multiple speakers from Bernal Heights and Ingleside described recent armed street robberies and pleaded for more officers on the ground at times when merchants and residents see gaps, particularly in morning and late‑afternoon windows. John Perry, a Bernal Heights resident, said his neighborhood is experiencing a crime surge and described frustration with thin staffing…