Capt. Richard Corriea:Crackdown on park crime

Two recent incidents in Golden Gate Park have raised concerns with folks about safety in the park.

On Sunday, July 4, at 9:40 in the evening, a 25-year-old man was stabbed to death in a fight in the park. Due to the continuing investigation, I am somewhat limited in the amount of information that I can provide; however, I can tell you that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene in a wooded area of the park near the Conservatory of Flowers at Conservatory Drive and John F. Kennedy Drive. A 65-year-old man was arrested at the scene. The officers from Park Station that responded to homicide did a great job at rapidly collecting evidence that led to the suspect's arrest.

On July 1, officers responded to JFK Drive at Transverse Drive in Golden Gate Park on a call of a dog attacking pedestrians. Officers arrived on the scene and found two people that had been attacked by a pair of dogs. One victim suffered serious injuries to her legs and the other suffered a deep bite wound on his ankle. Both victims were transported to a local hospital by ambulance for emergency treatment.

During the search for the dogs officers located one boxer-pit bull mix and it was easily captured. The second dog, a 50-pound pit-bull, was found a short time later on a nearby trail. When an officer approached the dog, it growled and charged him in a menacing manner. After a non-lethal intervention failed, the officer was forced to shoot the animal. Even after being struck with a bullet the dog resisted the Animal Care and Control officer and struggled for some time. The animal ultimately gave up his struggle and walked to the Animal Care and Control van.

Officers did a tremendous job by their response to this serious incident. They closed off the affected area of the park to prevent further injuries, saw to the prompt treatment of the victims and eliminated these vicious animals as a threat to our community.

While I believe that Golden Gate Park is a safe environment, any crime that occurs inside the park is disconcerting and inconsistent with the sense of our City's "crown jewel."

Reported serous crime in Golden Gate Park is down 52 percent so far this year. As of July 2009, there were 196 "part one" felonies reported in the park. Of this total, 180 were non-violent crimes comprised mostly of auto burglaries and larcenies.

In contrast, a review of 2010 reports filed year-to-date shows that there has been 101 "part one" felonies reported, 87 of which were non-violent crimes.

During the summer months and early Fall use of the park increases significantly as tourists and city residents avail themselves to the park's many amenities and charms. Incidents of disorderly conduct increase and traffic clogs the park's streets and parking lots. Our goal is zero crime in the park and every visitor feeling safe. So, in response to these annual trends and to help enhance your sense of safety, our uniformed police presence in the park has been increased.

On July 7, Richmond Station commenced "Operation Safe Summer" in the park. We have allocated more patrol time for enforcement of traffic, nighttime parking, camping infractions and other violations of the Park Code.

With our partners at the Department of Animal Care and Control we are also paying close attention to un-leashed and un-licensed dogs in the park. Our operation will continue through at least Oct. 30.

Stolen Automobiles

In the last 30 days we have seen an increase in the number of cars being stolen in district. In the most recent 30 days there were 26 cars stolen, versus 13 in the prior 30-day reporting period. The good news is that overall year-to-date the total number of cars that were stolen has decreased. By mid-July 2009 there had been 182 incidents.

So far this year there have been 138 cars stolen, making our year over year decrease in auto theft 24 percent.

Seventy-six percent of the cars stolen in the Richmond are taken from the streets between Arguello and 25th Avenue. If you own a 1990s vintage Honda Accord or Civic, or a Toyota, you are at a higher risk of having your car stolen.

Please call 911 immediately if you see any suspicious activity.

Bicycle Thefts Continue

Bicycle thefts continue to be problem in the district. Many bikes are taken from garages in multi-family apartment buildings, public bike racks and when left locked to fixtures in public places. When an owner fails to note the serial number of their bike our chances of recovering the item is significantly diminished.

Please record your bicycle's serial number and note any after-manufacturing parts that you have installed. Any time you leave your bicycle unattended, I suggest you remove a wheel or the seat and secure them in a separate location.

Marijuana Grow Houses

Please call Lt. Mark Mahoney at 666-8042 if you suspect that a residence is being used as a grow house. You can also leave an anonymous voice mail by calling 668-7387.

These commercial facilities are fire hazards and can draw violent crime into our neighborhoods. In the last 90 days we have received reports of two robberies and one burglary at different grow houses in the district. In the last 30 days we have executed search warrants at four grow houses in the district.

If you would like information about how to avoid being a victim of a crime, please call SFSAFE at 553-1984 or visit its website at www.sfsafe.org.

I also encourage you to attend our next Police Community Relations Forum on Aug. 17, at 1 p.m., at the Richmond Station. We will be talking about crime prevention, Golden Gate Park and district-wide crime trends.

Richmond Station distributes an e-mail newsletter every Friday. Our newsletter, which is sent to several hundred e-mail addresses, contains information about recent crimes, arrests and upcoming events in the district. To be added to this list, please e-mail us at sfpd.richmondstation@sfgov.org. Ê

Capt. Richard Corriea is the commanding officer at the Richmond Station. He can be reached via e-mail at Richard.Corriea@sfgov.org.