San Francisco, CA
SFPD response times for small crimes still slow, and it may not get better anytime soon
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Earlier this year, San Francisco reported that property crime was down significantly. The numbers say that, but some people say they have stopped reporting “smaller” crimes because the police take so long to respond. Many others don’t report crimes because they feel nothing will be achieved.
For example, it’s Monday mid-morning, we captured what store workers tell us is a typical occurrence at the Walgreens on Market and 9th Street in San Francisco.
An employee is on the phone with a 911 dispatcher to report the incident while another employee yells at the woman.
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The two employees are now describing what’s happening while on the phone.
She continues to put items in her bag despite knowing that she’s being recorded on a cellphone and that the incident is being reported to 911. She then calmly walks out of the store.
When this crime happened the security officer was at lunch.
We wanted to talk to them, so we returned a few days later and interviewed security.
Lyanne Melendez: “Have you seen this woman before?
Guard: “All the time.” Usually it’s everyday, every other day.
Lyanne: “What does she do when she comes in?”
Guard: “They just usually come through the aisles and fill up and leave.”
Lyanne: “Is there anything you can do about it?
Guard: “No, they don’t let us touch them anymore.”
Lyanne: “How long does it take police to respond?”
Guard: “They don’t respond.”
And shoplifters know it.
“They are in and out of the store in two or three minutes and they are out the door and by the time the store reports that, people are long gone,” explained David Burke, SFPD Public Safety Liaison for District 8.
Even after the store reports it, police admit it takes them too long to respond.
Here’s the data on the police department’s response time when dealing with non-violent crimes such as a burglary.
So far this month, it has taken police almost 30 minutes to respond. The target is 20 minutes. The last time they met that goal was in the first four months of the COVID pandemic, when shelter-in-place orders were in effect.
MORE: Serial SF shoplifter accused of stealing $40K+ worth of items speaks for 1st time
Police say they may not meet that goal for years to come because they are about 500 officers short.
The truth is that SFPD has struggled for years to recruit new officers and that was even before the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 when there was a call nationwide to defund the police.
Still, In San Francisco, in August 2020, some lawmakers called for cuts to police funding and the cancellation of the upcoming four police academies.
“I would actually propose to eliminate all four,” said former San Francisco Supervisor Sandra Fewer back in August 2020.
“It’s about the system that is rotten to its core,” added San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen during that Aug. 20, 2020 meeting.
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Even the mayor initially agreed that changes had to be made but when property crimes escalated, London Breed took a difference stance.
“We will expand recruitment strategies and work to retain officers,” said Breed in Dec. 2021.
Even that supervisor who called for defunding the police, later complained that her district was lacking in law enforcement officers.
“I’ve been begging this department to give the Mission what it deserves in terms of police presence all year long and I’ve been told time and time again that there are no officers,” expressed Ronen in February 2023.
In the end, the police department’s budget was never cut but police say the rhetoric did lasting damage.
MORE: Convicted serial SF shoplifter gets probation after serving less than 1 year in jail
Recruitment has been a challenge, even when earlier this month, the mayor and the police chief welcomed its largest police academy class since 2018.
For people who have been victims or have witnessed thefts, there is fatigue and resignation that little will be done to curb it from happening again.
We caught another man who was apparently stealing from a Walgreens in the Noe Valley neighborhood.
It wasn’t until we began recording that the employee offered to contact police.
“There is that psychological thing when if you feel ‘well if they aren’t going to come, or they’re going to come in an hour from now, I’m not going to bother,’ but the police department, we don’t know this is happening if people aren’t making reports, then we’re not aware that this is going on,” added Burke.
Police are also counting on new technology to help them when going after people through Prop E. This was approved by voters last March. Police will now have license plate readers and drones at their disposal.
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A California sea lion pup found last week on a San Francisco street corner is malnourished but “active and quite feisty,” The Marine Mammal Center said Monday.
The sea lion, believed to be about 10 months old, had apparently wandered into city’s Outer Sunset neighborhood and was discovered early Thursday morning, authorities said.
The pup was spotted near 48th and Irving Streets, one block from Ocean Beach and Sunset Dunes park. A trained responder from the Marine Mammal Center was joined by San Francisco park rangers and police officers to safely corral the pup, now named ‘Irving’, into a carrier crate.
Dubbed ‘Irving’ by his rescuers, Irving weighed in at 40 pounds and is considered malnourished, the Marine Mammal Center said.
“The sea lion is active and quite feisty which is a positive initial sign in terms of general behavior,” the center said in a news release on Monday.
During an exam by veterinarians, a series of blood samples were also taken to determine whether there’s any underlying ailment.
Irving is being tube fed a fish smoothie blend two times per day to boost hydration and weight; offers of whole herring will also begin shortly.
The quick actions by police, recreation and parks staff and Ocean Avenue Animal Hospital gave the young sea lion a second chance at life, said Lauren Campbell, animal husbandry manager at The Marine Mammal Center.
“As a roughly 10-month-old pup in his first year of learning how to forage on his own, this animal has a long road to recovery due to his severe malnutrition,” Campbell said. “We are hopeful that in the coming weeks with continued specialized care that this pup starts to make positive strides toward recovery and release.”
Irving will be held in the Center’s Intensive Quarantine Unit until clearing medical protocols, before likely being transferred this week to a traditional rehabilitation pool pen. A long-term prognosis and potential release timeline are not currently known.
After Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants headed back to the West Coast. They’re going back to the Bay Area, too.
The Giants have a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at Oracle Park starting Tuesday night.
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So, San Francisco probably wanted to get out of Washington, D.C., with a win. That didn’t happen at Nationals Park on Sunday afternoon.
Nationals reliever Andrew Alvarez, the third pitcher used by the team on Sunday, picked up the victory with 4 1/3 innings of work. Giants starter Robbie Ray absorbed the loss, falling to 2-3 this season.
Ray worked six innings, giving up seven hits, three runs (all earned), walking one, and striking out seven Nationals. If the Giants’ offense had found a way to tack on some runs, then Ray’s outing wouldn’t have looked so bad.
The Giants’ bats, though, had eight hits. The big number for Giants manager Tony Vitello to look at in the box score after this one was, well, pretty big. San Francisco left 10 runners on base on Sunday, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. This indicates that San Francisco had plenty of opportunities to score some runs.
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They just didn’t get the job done.
Let’s go to the bottom of the fifth with the Giants and Nationals in a scoreless tie. With nobody out, the Nationals’ Keibert Ruiz connected for his third double this season. Nasim Nuñez scored to put Washington up 1-0.
With one out, Curtis Mead sent a Ray pitch over the left-field wall, a two-run blast that gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
San Francisco had a scoring threat in the top of the eighth inning. With runners at first and second base and nobody out, Casey Schmitt grounded into a double play. Matt Chapman, who was on second base, went to third. But the Giants were unable to bring him home.
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Rafael Devers and Drew Gilbert went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Giants, producing half of the Giants’ hits.
The Giants fall to 9-13 this season, sitting in fourth place in the National League West Division. The Nationals’ record goes to 10-12, good enough for third place in the National League East Division.
All eyes now turn toward Oracle on Tuesday night. It’ll be a chance for two longtime rivals to renew their rivalry.
Baseball fans know that the Giants-Dodgers matchups usually are must-see TV.
That’s probably going to be the case once again as Giants fans watch their team battle the Dodgers. Those lucky to have tickets to the three-game series at Oracle Park will show up in Giants colors, hoping to see Los Angeles head back to Southern California with either a series loss or a Giants’ sweep.
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Buckle up, Giants fans. It’s about to get rowdy at Oracle Park.
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