Dear Neighbors:

On behalf of LPOA, I attended the Police Community Relation Forum at Taravel Police Station on 7/20. It lasted from 7pm till 8pm instead of 8:30pm as scheduled, but afterward there were small group discussions.

Below are the highlights relevant to our community:

1. Captain Henry Parra, who hosted this forum, is leaving Taraval Station and will manage Police Reserve

2. Auto burglary is up and down, but recently was down, perhaps due to school closure for summer. Still, it is advised not to leave anything valuable visible in the car.

3. There were pockets of home burglaries with entries through windows in the ground floors. Before leaving home, look around your house to check whether any suspicious individual is canvassing your home or neighborhood. Make sure to chain and lock down any ladder in the backyard. There was a case where the burglar used a ladder in the backyard to get entry. When seeing a stranger jumping over the fence in the backyard, watch out and report to police. Be reminded not to get into his way, though.

4. If a stranger knocks on your door and asks "Is John living here?" If there is no John, be careful, because he is testing to see whether the owner is at home.

5. Police caught a probationer with a back pack. He lives across the Bay and commutes by BART to commit crimes here. He took the Police to 8 places where he burglarized over a period of couple months. No specific locations were revealed at the meeting.

6. There are only 117 policemen. Cap. Parra appealed to neighbors to get involved by reporting any suspicious acts and strangers.

7. I told Cap. Parra about a rash of home burglaries and auto break-ins recently in Lakeside and requested update for our neighbors. I also asked whether Taraval Police Station has any plan to deal with these problems and how LPOA can collaborate with police. He did not responded with specific info, but referred me to Lieutenant Jerry, who is in charge of crime investigation and was not present. After the meeting, I gave my biz card to him and he promised to ask Lieutenant Jerry to contact me. Regarding collaboration, he only suggested to use our "eyes" to help watch our neighborhood and report to police.

8. There was a question about how to spot a house used for growing pot plants. Cap. Parra listed the following tell-tale signs:
a. A rented house
b. Renter pays cash and is willing to pay extra to avoid any paperwork trail.
c. The tenant is usually young
d. Trucks driving in and out to unload gears or equipments
e. Humming noise from house, especially from exhausted fans.
f. Duct tapes all around windows
g. People coming in and out of premise
h. Electric meter going very fast (because of lamps for pot growth)
i. Strange smell permeating from house

Pot plants can be harvested 3 to 4 times a year. If lamps fall on the plants, they may cause fire. If you see above signs and have suspicion, call the police.

9. Cap. Parra reminded the audience to prepare for earthquake. He also showed a model of emergency light available at Home Depot for $35, besides emergency flash light. He also advised to put a heavy duty crowbar under bed for use in breaking doors and windows if jammed after earthquake.

10. In last 2 weeks, there are 3 cases of assaults.

11. Guest Speaker: Kate gave an brief introduction on the mission and services of Community Boards (Neighborhood Mediation Program). If we have any disputes (such as trees, noise, parking, and so on) with our neighbors that are beyond our abilities to resolve, but not big enough to go to court, CB's experienced mediators can help. CB is a voluntary program. The mediators will sit down and listen to both sides. To open a case, one pays a one-time charge of $10. Mediation is free and there will be follow-ups. Languages spoken besides English include Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin Chinese. The process is 100% confidential. This is a peaceful alternative, if one hesitates to talk to his/her neighbor. Usually it will take about 10 days to set up the meeting after calling CB, depending on the availability of all parties involved. I got several biz cards from CB for our board members if so interested.

12. Connie Jouganatos reminded planned activities in Newsletter, including planting meeting on Sat (8/21) at Taraval and Great HW and Leland Yee's health care meeting at Noriega.

13. Captain Parra introduced his replacement, Captain John Sanford Jr. Cap. Sanford gave a warm speech about this engaging district and looked forward to partnering with neighbor groups and associations, especially SAFE (Safety Awareness For Everyone).
a. Cap. Sanford will be on vacation for 1 week on 10/1.
b. He lives in Antioch, but was born and raised in the city.
c. He has 25 yrs of experience, working for patrol, investigation, narcotics, and vice. He has worked at 6 police stations. When he was promoted to sergeant, he was sent to work at Taraval Police Station in '96 for 1.5 yrs, before working for crime investigation in downtown.
d. Having been working at so many locations and departments, he knows how to find resources throughout the city to get the job done. He will dedicate a sergeant to work on community concerns.
e. Useful email addresses: John.sanford@sfgov.org, sfpd.taraval.station@sfgov.org
f. He will assign a lieutenant to help those who prefer using phone calls, instead of emails.

14. After the meeting, I introduced myself to Cap. Sanfond and briefly outlined LPOA's concerns. He was very open and receptive. I invited him to join one of our monthly meetings. He said he would, once back from vacation.

15. Mark Christianson invited Lakeside neighbors to attend METNA Meeting on Tues. (8/10), 7pm at Palmetto Meeting Hall, 640 Palmetto Ave (Betw Charles & Chester) to discuss about Parkmerced future plan. Invited guests include Sean Esbernd, John Avalos, Kirsten Macaulay, Bert Polacci (GM), John Gavin (Community Outreach), Seth Mallen (Exc VP, Stellar Management, Parkmerced).

I hope that you will find the above info useful.

Best,
Ralph Chern