Summary from January 20 UNN Meeting
Summary from January 20 UNN Meeting
UNN / Ingleside Station Community Meeting
January 20, 2016
Upper Noe Recreation Center
Attending:
-Captain Joseph McFadden
-Officer Rob Rueca
-SFSAFE Public Safety Coordinator Allison Burke -Ingleside Station Community Police Advisory Board co-chair Joelle Kenealey, and members Sarah Rogers, Chris Faust
-45 neighbors
Upper Noe Neighbor’s safety agenda neatly coincided with Capt. McFadden’s desire to bring his monthly community meeting to Noe Valley.
Upper Noe Neighbors president Marianne Hampton welcomed a mix of nearby neighbors and regulars of the captain’s meetings.
Captain McFadden introduced himself and delivered a general report on crime issues.
Auto break-ins and home burglary have increased.
Car break-ins have little downside for criminals. It does not involve the risk or effort of other criminal activities such as drug sales. Breaking in is quick and easy. It involves no special skill or tools and any electronic device is worth $200 at 7th and Market. A jacket or blanket lying on the seat might be reason to break in if it looks like it might be covering a laptop or cell phone.
Felony break-in = 1. breaking, 2. taking something, 3. leaving. Forced entry or breaking required.
Never leave a gun in the car.
Put items in your trunk before reaching your destination and parking. Criminals are watching, and may even follow you to your destination after you park to be sure that you will be busy for a while.
Don’t park long-term with your garage opener, registration or other documents with your address in your car. Take them with you. Thieves may go to your home, open your garage and rob it if they suspect you will be gone for a while.
Get a key fob guard to protect against thieves using amplifiers to remotely activate your key and cause it to unlock your car doors.
Hot prowls are on the rise, usually garages. This is where opportunistic burglars sneak into a home when residents are present, either sleeping or in another room. Don’t leave ground floor or other accessible windows unlocked. A garage door opener left in the car can be stolen and used to open your garage door.
Home invasions are not common. It’s high risk. Usually these crimes involve people who know each other.
Shoulder-surfing ATMs. Criminals wait for easy targets, often older women, to log in and then bump them out of the way and withdraw cash. Be aware. Look around. Don’t log in if unsure about nearby people. Let others go ahead if a suspicious person is behind you. Or just leave and go somewhere else.
Mail scams are becoming more common. Do not send money in response to offers that are too good to be true.
Capt. McFadden showed a video of an actual daylight car break-in caught with a citizens home security camera. It showed a criminal casing cars, quickly smashing a window, and moving items from the victim’s car to a waiting get-away vehicle. The speed and ease of the crime was shocking and the brazen attitude of the criminal was shocking.
Report suspicious behavior right away. Keep reporting. Be vocal. We are all deputized to be nosy neighbors. Don’t worry about annoying dispatch or SFPD. Get details: shoes, pants (items that can’t be quickly discarded or will stand out to officers.), bumper sticker, broken tail-light or antenna. Unique details give officers probable cause for investigation.
Suspicious activity includes walking very close to cars and looking in, especially with a nearby car double parked idling.
Use home video cameras with wide angle to capture as much of the street as possible.
Form a Neighborhood Watch. Contact SFSAFE.
Ingleside is stepping up traffic enforcement of racing vehicles.