SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Police Department has implemented a new crime-prevention strategies more deployments of police resources to tackle organized gang robberies in and around the Union Square as of November 19 led to decreases in retail- and holiday-related crimes.
SFPD Captain Julian Ng, who commands the Central Station police district that includes Union Square, Chinatown, and North Beach, delivered the update to a meeting of the Union Square Alliance showing sharp drops in incidents of assault, burglary, and larceny/theft for the period November 20 through December 6 compared to the preceding 16-day period. The report notes the crime prevention and deterrence plan, which included a situational analysis, deployments, and early results from the Union Square Safe Shopper program.
San Francisco Chief of Police William Scott indicated that the statistics bear out what he has been hearing from visitors, shoppers, and business owners all around San Francisco, and what he has seen reported in local news stories. A recent San Francisco Chronicle report quoted multiple sources saying that the new deployments “make us all more comfortable and safe.”
“I’m grateful to Captain Ng for his leadership in the Central District and I’m incredibly proud of our police officers, from all across the city, for how they’re responding to serve San Francisco,” said Police Chief William Scott. “Our officers are stepping up at a very challenging time, given the many concerns we’re hearing from San Franciscans that range from neighborhood safety to our City’s economic recovery. At the San Francisco Police Department, we’re committed to doing our part to bring San Francisco back — better and safer — and we’re grateful to have the support of City leaders like Mayor London Breed and our Board of Supervisors to do our jobs effectively.”
