Park Station has been busy this October. In the wake of the murder in Golden Gate Park and the increasingly vocal opposition to the Haight's street kids, it fielded around 100 disgruntled citizens at last week's unusually well-attended monthly community meeting.

Increased scrutiny of the Haight's problems has gotten play in the media as well, with the Chronicle reporting on the Haight's Taking It To The Streets program as a contrast to what some call increasingly negative street culture, and also issuing an op-ed that states, "Since sit/lie isn’t working, it’s time for city leaders to either strengthen it — or come up with something more serious."

Meanwhile, the Haight has seen more incidents of hot prowl burglaries and robberies, and SFPD is pursuing a new round of drug busts around the neighborhood. Here's what's been going down, as reported in recent police reports:

Vehicle Burglaries

As with the rest of the city, the neighborhood has been plagued with a rash of car break-ins. Park Station has even sent out dedicated newsletters urging locals to be smart about keeping their cars locked and empty, and yet the break-ins keep on coming.

Park Station reports eight vehicle break-ins so far this month, most taking place in or near Golden Gate Park. Several incidents saw smashed windows, and all are still under investigation.

Hot Prowl Burglaries

Burglaries and hot prowl burglaries (the latter designation means that the suspect entered the building while occupants were inside) also continue to be a problem in the Haight, as well as in the Inner Sunset and Cole Valley, as we detailed yesterday. Here's a summary of recent incidents, as reported by Park Station:

• 10/7, Page Street near Baker: bicycle stolen
• 10/9, Masonic Avenue near Frederick: home burglarized during the night while victim was home asleep, several items stolen
• 10/11, Buena Vista East: home broken into while victim was home, several items stolen
• 10/15, Page Street near Shrader: storage unit broken into, bicycle stolen
• 10/17, Clayton Street near Haight: victim noticed a breeze, and discovered a back door open and the suspect passed out in a chair. Suspect taken into custody. 

Robberies

There have also been a few notable robberies in recent weeks. On October 2nd, a victim was robbed in Golden Gate Park by four people, one of whom claimed to have a gun. The incident is still under investigation. 

On the 17th, near Haight and Cole Streets, a victim had the strap of their bag cut from behind by a suspect with a knife. The suspect fled the scene with the bag, and has not been caught. 

Drug Busts

In Park Station's most recent newsletter, it was revealed that officers are running "buy/bust operations," with plainclothes officers roaming the Haight and "monitoring the area for illegal narcotics activity." At last week's community meeting, Park Station Captain Sanford said he oversaw an undercover narcotics operation that netted nine arrests last Saturday and five more on Sunday. We've inquired for more information on this tactic from SFPD.

Quality-of-Life Violations

Park Station goes on to list the six most common quality-of-life violations, and the top two probably won't surprise you. In first place are sit/lie violations, which, as we've mentioned, are issued more often in the Haight than in other neighborhoods. The second is "No Trespassing Where Posted," another violation deployed quite frequently in the Haight, due to Park Station's history of supplying businesses with signs for their windows.  

The rest are "soliciting within 20 feet of an ATM," "selling items without a permit," "urinating or defecating in public," and "consuming alcohol in public."

At last week's meeting, Supervisor Breed said, "We need more foot patrols; we need more officers on the street." To that end, she said she planned to ask that more officers be added to the roster at Park Station. "I know that you have tolerated a lot over the years," she told frustrated residents, "and we have to be a lot more aggressive with crime in this neighborhood."