Capt. Richard Corriea: Police Beat

Hit and run, crime update

On March 10, at 10:30 in the evening, a young male pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in the 4900 block of Anza Street and suffered serious injuries. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene, and the vehicle was found unattended by officers in another part of the district shortly after the incident.

This case of hit and run was assigned to Inspector Jennifer Forrester, who has been doing an outstanding job at following up on leads. In late May, Forrester presented her case to the District Attorney and successfully obtained a warrant for the arrest of the suspected driver of the vehicle. Currently, the suspected driver is wanted for felony hit and run, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended license. Bail is set at $250,000.

I recently visited the victim in the hospital to see how his lengthy convalescence was progressing and to let him know that Richmond District officers and the community cared deeply about what happened to him. He has been hospitalized since the March incident. In spite of a very slow recuperation, the victim is upbeat, pragmatic and plans to make a full recovery in time. He will stay with out-of-town family members after he is discharged, but ultimately wants to make his home in the Richmond District when he is able to get by on his own.

Crime statistics update

During the month of April, there were 25 injury automobile collisions in the district, which brings the year's total through April to 100. We continue to address this problem through education and traffic enforcement. As of April 30, 2008, Richmond Station officers had issued 3,229 citations for moving violations. For the same period this year, we issued 4,272 citations, which is a 32 percent increase over last year.

During the month of April this year, 10 individuals were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) in the Richmond District. During April of 2008, there was one arrest for DUI in the Richmond.

In the month of April, 2009, Richmond Station officers handled 5,322 radio calls for service, an increase of 200 over April 2008. Our most urgent calls are classified as priority "A" emergencies. Priority "B" calls are urgent but not emergencies, and all other calls are classified as priority "C." In April 2009 we had 258 priority "A" calls, 666 priority "B" calls and 4,398 priority "C" calls. Our average response time for priority "A" calls is three minutes and 43 seconds.

In the last month, officers have arrested three auto burglars following calls reporting suspicious activity. Working together, we can eliminate auto burglaries. Please continue to promptly report suspicious activity and don't leave any bags, backpacks or other property in vehicles.

Bay to Breakers update

The Bay to Breakers run took place on May 17. Officer Jill Connolly worked very hard to see that we had sufficient officers and other resources to handle the public safety issues that might arise during an event of this magnitude.

By all accounts our policing problems were significantly less than last year. Several factors helped, including a concerted effort early on by a number of stakeholders to limit alcohol consumption, require that participants register floats and limit the hours of live music. Also, experience told us that participants must be able to leave the area quickly. Muni did a superlative job at providing buses for transportation to the downtown area and West Portal. Wait times were limited and historically problematic large crowds waiting for transportation did not form.

With the 2009 Bay to Breakers race in the history books, at the station we are turning our attention to the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival.

Please attend our next Police/Community Forum on Tuesday, June 16, from 1 to 2 p.m., at the Richmond Recreation Center, 251 18th Ave. We will again be devoting most of the meeting to discussing the festival, which is scheduled for Aug. 28 to 30 this year in Golden Gate Park.

Your input is important as we plan for policing the event. To learn more about the event, visit the promoter's Web site at www.SFOutsideLands.com.

The Richmond Station distributes an e-mail newsletter every Friday, which is sent to several hundred e-mail addresses. It contains information about recent crimes, arrests and upcoming events in the district. To be added to the list, please e-mail sfpd.richmondstation@sfgov.org.

Also, please visit http://richmondforum.wordpress.com to see our Web site, where the current station newsletter, past editions and periodic public safety advisories are posted.

Capt. Richard Corriea is the commanding officer at the Richmond Station.