This Month In Crime: Your Upper Haight Recap

This Month In Crime: Your Upper Haight RecapPhoto: Evan Blaser/Flickr
Camden Avery
Published on April 28, 2016

Rounding out the close of another month—one that both included 4/20 and saw San Francisco's criminal activity in the national spotlight—it's time for another check-up on crime and mayhem in the Upper Haight.

As usual, far and away the most prevalent type of crime reported in the Upper Haight in April was vehicle burglaries, clocking in at around 70 percent of overall incidents in each week of the month. Perennial safety tips on that front: always lock car doors, leave no valuables in sight or in the car (including the trunk), and keep your garage-door remote on your person.

Hot prowl burglaries also continue to be favored among local criminals, and Park Station reported, unsurprisingly, a surge in drug-related arrests on April 20th.

At April's Park Station community meeting, Capt. John Sanford also noted that traffic violations, especially those made as part of a Vision Zero effort, were the fastest-growing type of citation for the station during the year, with over 500 citations since January 1st.

Here are some notable crime-related incidents that occurred in the Upper Haight over the last month:

  • March 27th, 4pm, 1400 block of Haight: A possession narcotics bust of a man on probation yielded dealer quantities of marijuana, as well as LSD, methamphetamine and unidentified colored pills.
  • March 28th, Haight and Masonic: A vehicle registration stop led to the seizure of psilocybin mushrooms, which officers confiscated. The suspect was released with a warning.
  • April 20th, various locations: On 4/20, multiple robberies at gunpoint were committed across the neighborhood. "Officers located the perpetrators utilizing GPS technology on the stolen property," writes Capt. Sanford. "During the contact, officers located a plethora of stolen property, a handgun, and a large amount of narcotics packaged for sales. Upon further investigation, officers arrested the perpetrators for multiple counts of robbery and several other charges." 
  • An uptick in buy/busts in and around Alvord Lake has yielded more arrests, including one day that yielded five arrests.

There was an additional smattering of violent crime and armed robbery in the neighborhood associated with 4/20, including a robbery with knife and brass knuckles.

Sgt. Joe Salazar, leader of Park Station's plainclothes unit, at the April community meeting. (Photo: Walter Thompson/Hoodline)

4/20 was policed in the Haight by the SFPD (who, according to Sanford, remained largely at Alvord Lake and across from Hippie Hill), in conjunction with "park rangers, Adult and Juvenile Probation, the Department of Emergency Management Dispatchers, Children and Family Services, San Francisco Fire Department, MTA Parking and Traffic Control Division, Animal Care and Control, and others."

Park Station also made efforts last month to cut down on residential camper parking in and around the Haight and Golden Gate Park, especially in the lead-up to 4/20: early on the morning of 4/20, officers went around Buena Vista Park and Golden Gate Park to roust illegal (that is, any) encampments.

For ongoing help with homeless management, Capt. Sanford asked for residents to remain in communication with the department's Homeless Outreach Team, officers Jeff Sung and Ryan Crockett, at jeff [dot] sung [at] sfgov [dot] org or ryan [dot] crockett [at] sfgov [dot] org.

Finally, a new prosecutor was recently appointed to the district: Marc Massarweh.

Capt. Sanford continues to emphasize the importance of community notification for the SFPD to effectively enforce violations. You can call 311 or use the 311 app to report minor violations, or contact the SFPD's non-emergency number at (415) 553-0123 for more serious crimes.