Here at Hoodline, we do our best to keep you informed of crime and quality of life issues in the neighborhoods we cover. In the case of the Tenderloin, which has its fair share of crime and mayhem, we won't be covering every on-the-street incident or mugging, but we'll do our best to give readers a snapshot of what's been going on, and how to stay safe.
During one week in the Tenderloin, for instance, many officially recorded muggings took place, largely of victims' cell phones and wallets. We rounded up five from the final week of February, gathered from daily reports released by the SFPD, as a representative sampling.
[Update: Our original story included a wider geographical range of incidents from the central city area, including outside of our own defined boundaries of the neighborhood. We've update the list below to only show incidents from within and along these borders.]
Robbery with Knife
At 10am on February 19th, an older man was robbed when he invited a friend into his apartment on the 400 block of Turk Street. The suspect grabbed a kitchen knife and held it to the victim's neck, before stealing money from the victim's wallet and fleeing the scene.
Robbery with Pepper Spray
At 12:40am on the morning of February 21st, a man was mugged at Eddy and Cyril Magnin streets. The victim was standing at the bus stop with his phone in his hand when a suspect hit his arm, causing him to drop his phone. The victim was then pepper-sprayed and his wallet stolen.
Robbery with Force
A young man was violently mugged on the 100 block of Ellis Street at 2:20am on February 22nd, when approximately three suspects approached the victim from behind, punched him in the head, and stole his phone.
Assault and Robbery
At 6:30pm on the evening of February 22nd, an assault and mugging took place on McAllister and Jones streets. Four suspects approached a man, forced him to a wall and punched him several times in the face before stealing his cell phone and wallet. Three of the assailants escaped, but one was arrested.
Blackout Robbery
In the early hours of February 26th, a victim was assaulted on the 600 block of Geary Street. He remembers being struck in the head before the suspect took his cell phone and fled. The victim suffered possible broken teeth and a split lip, but was treated and released at the scene.
We reached out to Captain Cherniss of the Tenderloin Police Station for suggestions on what passersby can do to protect themselves and their belongings in the Tenderloin.
"Be extra vigilant when operating an electronic device in public. You are more distracted than you know," he told us. "Be aware of your surrounding always, particularly when you are alone, at an ATM, on your phone, or parking your car."
When possible, he suggests using the buddy system—victims are less likely to be approached if they're with a friend, as evidenced by the crimes relayed above, all of which occurred to solo victims.
