Almost a dozen neighbors and merchants gathered to learn more about public safety efforts from a discussion with District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Taraval Police Station Officer Drewkai Butler and consultant and retired SFPD Officer Al Casciato.
Lots of minor crime incidents added up this summer to frustrate merchants along Ingleside’s Ocean Avenue. The Sept. 19 gathering was organized by the nonprofit Ocean Avenue Association, a community benefit district charged by City Hall to clean and maintain the retail corridor.
“It's great to see crime trending downward but we still do have crime,” Butler said, who was once Ocean Avenue’s full-time footbeat officer. “Trending down doesn't mean there's no crime but we still do have crime and we're doing our best to respond as quickly as we can with the officers that we have.”
A few years ago, Chief of Police Bill Scott pledged to put two footbeat officers on most commercial corridors. Because of the officer shortage — estimated to be around 500 officers — Ocean Avenue does not even have one full-time beat officer. Butler does many other tasks for the station house, including operating the Neighborhood Safety Team.
Melgar has been working with SFPD to enhance its service in the district. Much of the neighborhood is in District 7 while the other part is in District 11, represented by mayoral aspirant Ahsha Safai.
Melgar said she has also worked with SFPD on the installation of license plate reading cameras at Ninth Avenue and Irving Street with plans for more at West Portal Avenue and Portola Drive. She added that she wants some for Ocean Avenue with the help of the OAA.
The cameras are meant to help combat retail theft and other crime by making vehicles used in crime traceable across the Bay Area.
Melgar secured public safety ambassadors, retired police officers who patrol commercial corridors, for several parts of the district but not Ocean Avenue.
OAA operates a community ambassadors program which entails mostly cleaning and beautification tasks. Executive Director Christian Martin said the plan was to have ambassadors be both cleaning and safety but funding was too limited. As they enter a renewal process that may provide a larger budget, the OAA may partner with Melgar to fund safety ambassadors.
Other tactics that the group shared that have helped reduce crime are the use of surveillance cameras in businesses and homes and establishing a relationship with fellow neighbors and police who patrol the area.
“It’s not what the police are doing,” said Casciato, who consults for the OAA and other similar organizations. “It’s what we are doing to create the neighborhood that the police can police in in an appropriate community policing mode. The community policing mode is, just as Officer Butler said, greeting people, talking to people because when something really bad happens, people will talk to the officer they know.”
Ellen Chen, whose son routinely walks Ocean Avenue for school, asked what exactly a safety ambassador would do.
“I love Ocean Avenue because there's racial diversity and there's economic diversity that I think the city has to hold onto and honor but there is a perception that it's not safe,” Chen said.
Donna Howe, chair of the Ingleside Terrace Homeowners Association’s safety committee, asked if SFPD partners with other authorities such as San Francisco State University police or Park Merced’s security personnel for assistance.
Butler said collaboration with other agencies has been pretty good since the jurisdictions overlap. Melgar also said that she was eager to coordinate with and leverage City College of San Francisco’s law enforcement since their coverage area also overlaps on Ocean Avenue.
“Having an officer who knows everybody and everything too is so important because you can connect those dots,” Melgar said, noting former Taraval Station Capt. Robert Yick is now the captain at SFSU. “It’s really important, also, that all the folks involved in the OAA, the merchants and the residents do the same, like have those relationships and talk to each other.”
Sabine Taliaferro, co-owner of Ocean Cyclery and community liaison for the OAA, asked if there was a way to fund the cost of security cameras, vandalism clean-up and awning installations for new businesses.
Melgar liked the idea and asked Jen Low, her legislative aide, to write it down. Casciato said he heard a similar idea mentioned at the police commission meeting the night before.
Gabe Cory, the OAA’s Deputy director, said they are forming a public safety committee that will meet monthly and serve as a direct line to city departments and host guest speakers.
Anne Marie Kristoff (she/her) is a recent graduate from San Francisco State University's journalism program. She enjoys writing about the arts, entertainment and nature.
