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Police tell Entertainment Commission they’ve investigated multiple robberies, assaults on Broadway
Summary
Central Station officer briefed commissioners on a series of late-night assaults, robberies and other incidents on Broadway and nearby corridors, urging certified security, lighting and camera conditions for extended-hours permits.
San Francisco — Central Station Officer Steve Mathias told the Entertainment Commission that police have responded to multiple assaults, batteries and robberies tied to late-night activity on Broadway and Columbus Streets, and urged permit conditions that require trained security, improved lighting and surveillance.
Mathias reviewed recent incidents by date, including an April 19 robbery that left a victim hospitalized and several April–May assaults involving serious injuries. "When we talk about the climate up on Broadway, it's not always just the clubs," Mathias said, pointing to an accumulation of nightclubs, liquor stores and adult-entertainment venues that together draw thousands of people into a small area.
He asked that extended-hours permit holders adopt security plans (certified guard cards during 10-70 operations), better lighting, surveillance cameras and adherence to the Good Neighbor Policy to address littering, blocking sidewalks and disorder. Commissioners used his testimony in deliberations over multiple extended-hours permits that same evening.
Mathias and other officers also described outreach activities with businesses and community meetings intended to produce coordinated, block-level responses rather than isolating single businesses for enforcement.
