Photo by Dave G.
Reader Dave G., and many other residents, encountered a frustrating sight on Thursday morning: nearly twenty smashed car windows along Fulton Street.
“Last night was completely ridiculous. There were around 20 cars that all had their windows smashed and things stolen along the south side of Fulton, between 17th and 25th, possibly more than that,” Dave said.
Between the roar of passing traffic and the ease of slipping into nearby Golden Gate Park after stealing something, parked cars on the south side of Fulton are an easy target.
Dave says because of this, he tries not to park there, but that “sometimes, that’s all that’s open in the crowded neighborhood.”
And before you say “just make sure nothing’s visible in your car!”, know that Dave and at least one of the other victims did not have anything showing in their car. Dave even has an alarm and a light that blinks on the dash to ward off burglars.
Last night’s spree, which resulted in nearly 20 smashed windows, was as much a work of vandalism as theft.
Dave says he’ll head to the next Richmond District Police Community Meeting to voice his frustration (Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 6pm).
But in the meantime, make sure if you park on the south side of Fulton, that NOTHING is visible in your car that would attract a curious thief. Well, that goes for anywhere you park in SF…
UPDATE 2/14/14: Dave sent us this update: “I did hear back from Captain Silverman who said he’s going to make it a priority for the night shift, so, awesome! He said it’s probably the work of just a few people, so any arrests may have a significant impact. Great to hear back from him in a positive manner.”
Sarah B.
I parked on the southside of fulton at 28th ave at 11:15pm last night. There was broken glass everywhere, so i believe it happened before that timeframe.
We need to clear the park out. Park kids and druggies camping nearby and this is what happens.
A couple of weeks ago I walked home from the de Young on the south side of Fulton and was appalled at the amount of broken window glass on the sidewalk and in the gutter in exactly the same stretch. So this isn’t the first time it’s happened.
🙁 🙁
This has been happening for decades! I am a night owl, so I hear the break ins when they happen – it is almost always in the very early morning – like 4’oclock hour.
And what has Eric Mar done about this?
Oh wait, he’s too busy putting his efforts into the much more serious problem of taxing sodas.
I swear the police don’t even bother to patrol the area. They are off eating late night tacos. Please catch all the people from the hood and move them to oakland
The SFPD knows that some parts of the city, including various areas of the Richmond District, aren’t really safe places to be in when it’s dark, so they stay away from them.
I e-mailed Mayor Lee, the Richmond District Police Station and Eric Mar about it. The only response I got was from Captain Silverman, who said “…I have ordered the night watch supervisors and officers to make this problem their priority effective immediately.
They will be doing a combination of undercover operations and high visibility patrol (obviously not at the same time)….”
I very much appreciated his response and call to action.
Feel free to voice your concerns. If no one tells them, they won’t know:
mayoredwinlee@sfgov.org
SFPDRichmondStation@sfgov.org
Eric.L.Mar@sfgov.org
Thanks for the follow-up Dave. Given SFPD staffing, I presume this means the one night watch supervisor and two patrolmen will have more on their to-do lists.
Arrests will do little to deter these criminals as they probably will never go to trial. Since Hallinan retired as DA I have only been called to jury duty twice, the most recent to appear next month and the prior call shortly after Gascon became DA. Before that, I got notices every 12 – 18 months like clockwork for a couple of decades.
As Bogart said, his has been going on for decades. Just like the pot dealers in GG Park near the merry go round, occasionally the SFPD increases their visibility in the area and then it quickly goes back to business as usual. Until the city’s policy on the homeless changes and the Sunset and Richmond district get representation that stands up for the rights of neighborhood residents and not criminals, nothing will change.
While the criminals are ultimately at fault, owners need to be more vigilant and take care to not leave anything in plain view. Lock it in the glove box or trunk. I often hear an excuse of “it’s not worth anything” but in a thief’s mind that empty bag in your back seat might contain a laptop or something more valuable. Everyone should make a habit of putting belonging in the trunk.
No point in putting belongings in trunk as all modern cars have a trunk opener latch by the drivers seat. Not like the old days where one had to get up and use a key to open the trunk.
Back in the 80s I used to see lots of express bus riders from Marin County complain their cars were broken into along Funston and 14th Avenues where none of the immediate neighborhood would dare to park all day. The Marin commuters enjoyed a wider expanse of free parking until the residential stickers arrived in our neighborhood.
Serge, the latest advice from cops is if you have to park your car on Fulton, leave your (empty) glove compartment open so there will be less temptation to break into your car.
Again, why don’t we have surveillance cameras on Fulton, and other major thoroughfares? Also, why aren’t we doing unannounced, *detailed* sweeps through GG Park, with dogs. It’s absolutely *not* acceptable to let this problem continue, or simply patch it up with an occasional increase in night patrols.
I would love to see heat-sensing and camera drones deployed over GGP and other problem areas. Why aren’t we doing this?