Several members of CAPS attended Taraval Station’s Police Captain Denise Flaherty’s Security Meeting on Wednesday night at the Ortega Branch Library. It was the first of four community meetings she will hold this year. Some key take aways:
- For our police district, there has been a 47% increase in residential burglaries and a 34% increase in auto break-ins. About half of the residential burglaries were through unlocked doors and garages!
- The DA doesn’t want to waste their time on cases the judges will dismiss, so they are setting a high bar for SFPD. Assistant DA Marc Massarweh gave an example of an 18 time offender who was released without bail by a lenient (but unnamed judge). As a result, the DA is asking SFPD for 9 solid counts before charging an auto burglar.
- Taraval Station had lost 8 officers but since the annual crime stats and due to West Portal being identified as a ‘hotspot’ we are receiving 6 replacements today. Staffing in part is determined by the number of calls for service in the precinct. So the Captain has urged the community to always call Dispatch 553-0123 for any suspect activity no matter how small one thinks it may be. The number of calls reported will reflect the need for an increase in police force in our area.