Capt. Paul Chignell: Police Beat

Police/Community Interaction
The most important component of policing is having the ability and motivation to interact appropriately with the community that we serve. The San Francisco Police Department cannot be successful unless we have the faith of community members that we will be efficient and thorough in handling urban problems.

Of course, everyone knows to call 911 for an emergency and either 311 or 553-0123 for non-emergency service. But there are a number of other venues to communicate with police officers. One is to come to community meetings, whether it is the monthly meeting at Taraval Station on the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. or to various scheduled neighborhood meetings throughout the Taraval district where police officers speak and answer questions.

There are more than 35 long-standing neighborhood groups in our police district, all of which have police officers come to speak from time to time. A second way to interact with police officers is to join a neighborhood watch and participate in those meetings.

There are 71 neighborhood watches in the Taraval Police District where residents discuss crime prevention, assess problems and discuss what solutions are available in working with law enforcement. Many neighborhood watch groups have a specific supervisor at the police station as a a liaison. To find out if there is a neighborhood watch in your neighborhood, call 673-SAFE.

In addition, we have a daily crime e-mail at the Taraval Police Station that has thousands of subscribers. It is free and is a great information tool so you know every crime and every arrest in the Taraval Police District. Just e-mail me at Paul.Chignell@sfgov.org to sign up.

Lastly, we encourage residents and merchants to call the Taraval Station or visit us if you have a concern or question. The supervisors at the station want to hear from you about positive and negative experiences with our officers, particularly the latter so that we can correct any poor behavior. In essence, please contact us - we are here to serve you.

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