Capt. Paul Chignell: Police Beat

We Fight Crime Together
I assumed command of the Taraval Police Station at the end of September and am still meeting and greeting folks and getting situated here at the station.

I must admit that it is a little strange to be back at Taraval because this was my first assignment out of the Police Academy in 1970. I was a young patrol officer then, having just turned 21. I left in 1973 to go to the Northern Station, where I worked in the Western Addition. In any event, I enjoyed the days at the Taraval in the early '70s - my assignment was the area from Lincoln Way to Taraval Street, and Sunset Boulevard to the Great Highway.

For a portion of that time I also worked plainclothes in anti-burglary efforts at Taraval.

Now, I am here as the commanding officer. The challenges facing police officers at Taraval are multifaceted as we have the largest geographical area of the 10 police stations in San Francisco, where we serve 150,000 people. From juvenile crime, auto break-ins, stolen cars, sporadic gang violence and drug dealing in the Oceanview area, and traffic safety concerns, there is much to do.

Our most important message is to communicate with us. That means calling 911 in an emergency, 553-0123 in a non-emergency, 575-4444 for our anonymous tip line, 311 for city services, or 759-3100 for inquiries to the station. And don't forget our most important non-emergency contact - my e-mail. My address is Paul.Chignell@sfgov.org.

I put out a daily e-mail of crimes and arrests in the Taraval Police District, the only police district in the city to have this newsletter on a daily basis. This information connects the residents and merchants to the station on a daily basis so they know exactly what is happening. Please e-mail me if you want to be on that list.

Another example of communication which involves community policing is assigning each of our sergeants as liaisons to community organizations. In that way, there is a specific point of contact for the leaders of organizations that serve the folks who live in the Taraval. As soon as those assignments are made, we will publicize them.

In future columns we will discuss some of our crime fighting strategies. I look forward to working with you in the weeks and months ahead.

Capt. Paul Chignell is the commanding officer at the Taraval Police Station.