Residents of Duboce Triangle have been on high alert in recent years, with locals sharing their impressions of rising crime with us back in 2014. Since our analysis of a year ago, which showed Duboce Triangle violent crime down, despite a handful of murders and assaults, residents have continued to report plenty of car break-ins, mail theft and unsavory behavior. In response, SFPD's Park Station will hold a meeting this evening to address issues of safety and quality of life in the area.
Of the crimes that have taken place in the past few years, four in particular have been unusually violent. In August of 2014, Feather Lynn was beaten near the intersection of Church and Duboce, later dying of his injuries. Later that year, Michael Marquez was shot and killed at Henry and Noe streets after a violent mugging. In early 2015, a woman was attacked near the same intersection. And last month, neighborhood residents Dean Ayers and Mary Artist suffered serious injuries after an altercation on Sanchez Street.
Many Duboce Triangle residents are responding by taking crime-monitoring into their own hands. The 100 and 200 blocks of Noe Street banded together in early March to launch a neighborhood watch program. Local residents have also employed the help of security cameras, which can capture day-to-day crimes on video to be shared with police and on platforms like Nextdoor and the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association's Facebook page.
The installation of security cameras is seen by some as an important safety measure. In a recent post on Nextdoor, assault victim Dean Ayers put out a request for residents on the 100 block of Sanchez (where he and his wife were attacked) to put up motion-detection lights and security cameras. "We want the neighborhood to feel safe and BE safe for everyone," he wrote.
Tonight's town hall meeting, hosted by Captain Sanford, Jr., will take place at the Harvey Milk Photo Center (50 Scott St.) from 6-8pm. "Please come hear the Captain’s strategic plan for addressing crime and quality of life in the Duboce Triangle," reads the SFPP flyer.
Four new officers have apparently been added to Park Station recently, increasing the station's ability to dispatch foot patrol officers. Whether these new officers will end up patrolling Duboce however, has yet been determined.
Do you live in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood? What are your biggest crime, safety, or quality of life concerns? Let us know in the comments.
