Greetings,
 
This Memorial Day weekend will be a busy one for the Mission and the City.  This weekend the Mission will host the 35th annual Carnival Festival and Parade.  The event will kick off on Saturday at 10:00 AM with the Carnival Festival.  The festival area is located on Harrison Street between 16th and 24th Streets.  

The festivities continue on Sunday with the Carnival Parade.  The parade begins at 9:30 AM and follows a route on 24th Street from Bryant to Mission, from Mission to 17th Street and from 17th to South Van Ness, with the festival to immediately follow.  

Sergeant Limbert, the officers of Mission Station and I have been planning for the event with Carnival staff and other City agencies for several months.  Mission Station will have numerous officers present on both days to provide for public safety.  Please remember that alcohol is only allowed in designated beer gardens.  This is a cultural and family event. Keeping that in mind we ask all participants to help us make this a successful, peaceful and safe event.     

Have a great weekend, 

Captain Bob Moser

Greetings,
 
This Memorial Day weekend will be a busy one for the Mission and the City.  This weekend the Mission will host the 35th annual Carnival Festival and Parade.  The event will kick off on Saturday at 10:00 AM with the Carnival Festival.  The festival area is located on Harrison Street between 16th and 24th Streets.  

The festivities continue on Sunday with the Carnival Parade.  The parade begins at 9:30 AM and follows a route on 24th Street from Bryant to Mission, from Mission to 17th Street and from 17th to South Van Ness, with the festival to immediately follow.  

Sergeant Limbert, the officers of Mission Station and I have been planning for the event with Carnival staff and other City agencies for several months.  Mission Station will have numerous officers present on both days to provide for public safety.  Please remember that alcohol is only allowed in designated beer gardens.  This is a cultural and family event. Keeping that in mind we ask all participants to help us make this a successful, peaceful and safe event.     

Have a great weekend, 

Captain Bob Moser

Greetings,
This week I would like to talk about auto burglaries.  We at Mission Station have seen an increase in auto burglary reports over the past week.  Mission Station officers have made great efforts to reduce auto break-ins and have made 10 auto burglary arrests in the past month and a half.  Despite the high number of arrests, we find that prevention is the best defense against auto burglaries.  Here are a few tips from www.SFSAFE.org to help minimize the potential that you will be a target:

■ Don’t leave ANY personal or valuable items inside a vehicle.
■ Lock all valuables inside the trunk before arriving at your destination.
■ Doors should be locked and windows up.
■ Use anti-theft devices like “The Club” or an alarm system.
■ Removable stereo systems should never be left in a vehicle.
■ GPS mapping devices - dash or windshield mounted should never be left in a
   vehicle.
■ Report break-ins and thefts to the San Francisco Police Department at
  (415) 553-0123, at any district police station, or online at www.sfgov.org/police.
■ Call the police if you see someone tampering with a vehicle.

Despite our recent rise in reports, the Mission District is down 17% year to date for auto burglaries.
  
Have a great weekend,

Captain Bob Moser

Greetings, 
 
This week officers from Mission Station were involved in an Officer Involved Shooting at 17th and Valencia Streets.   On Saturday, April 6, 2013 at approximately 2:00 AM, Officers responded to a fight between two groups at that location.  When they arrived the Officers encountered a suspect pointing what appeared to be a firearm at the opposing group.  The officer fired at the suspect striking him and another individual.    Further investigation revealed that the suspect was holding an air powered pistol.  Chief Greg Suhr held a town hall meeting in the Mission District on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 to discuss the facts of the incident and answer any questions the public have. 

Officers in the Mission District have been work hard this year to reduce gun violence.  This year weapon and firearm seizures are up 108%.  Shooting victims are down 20%.  Reports of shots fired are up slightly; 10%.  There have been 11 reports of shots fired so far this year as opposed to 10 reports this time last year.

This Sunday will be the first Sunday Streets held this year in the Mission District.  Sunday Streets provides temporary recreational spaces for residents and visitors by closing select city streets to vehicular traffic. This year’s route will run on Valencia from Duboce Ave. to 24th Street and 24th Street between Hampshire and Valencia. The event will run from 11 AM to 4 PM.  Sunday Streets is an alcohol free event.  

Have a Great Weekend,

Captain Bob Moser

Greetings, 

This week I would like highlight the Bay Guardian’s article titled “On a Mission” written by Tim Redmond.  The article, from the Guardian’s March 13-19 issue, focuses on the work of Officers David Sands and John Cathey from Mission Station.  Officers Cathey and Sands are Mission Station Gang Enforcement Officers.   Officers Cathey and Sands spend their shift contacting gang members and at risk youth.  Sometimes they make arrests for violations of the law.  Other times they check in to see how people are doing.  Occasionally they are able to help these young people get a job and offer them an alternative to street life.  About a year and a half ago, Officers Cathey and Sands became tired of arresting the same people repeatedly.  It was at that time that they approached Supervisor David Campos and asked him for help.  Supervisor Campos sponsored a program which allows Officers Cathey and Sands to refer gang members to a job program.  In exchange, the gang members agree to stay away from the gang life.  Mr. Redmond spent a day and a half riding with Officers Sands and Cathey and wrote about his experience and the program.  I encourage you all to read his article.
 
Have a great weekend,

Captain Bob Moser

Greetings,

This week I would like to address robberies.  The Mission District has experienced a rise in street robberies over the past few weeks.  Overall, robberies in the Mission have risen 41% this year. The robberies have occurred in various parts of the district.  They have also occurred at different times.  However, we have found that a higher percentage of the robberies occur between the hours of 8pm and 12 am.  Many of the robberies involve the theft of cell phones. 

Despite the rise, Mission Station officers have made numerous arrests for street robberies this year.  Our officers have made 55 arrests for robbery this year.  This number accounts for a 1000% rise in robbery arrests compared to last year.  Mission Station officers are actively engaging in tactics aimed at reducing street robberies. These measures include patrol saturation in target areas and enforcement operations involving both uniformed and plain clothes officers. 

In addition to enforcement operations, personal safety and awareness is a large component of robbery prevention.   San Francisco SAFE is a good resource for personal safety tips and information.  I encourage you to visit the SFSAFE website at www.sfsafe.org.  In the coming months, Officers from Mission Station will be working towards reducing the numbers of robberies and maintaining the high number of arrests. 

Captain Bob Moser

On Thursday, February 14, 2013, two of your very own Mission Station Officers were honored  as recipients of   the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation’s Heroes and Hearts award for 2012.  The Hearts and Heroes award honors “community heroes who demonstrate exceptional and inspirational behavior.” 

For the past year and a half Officers John Cathey and David Sands have been working with Supervisor David Campos in an effort to get at risk youth off the streets and into jobs programs.  Officers Cathey and Sands are assigned as gang intervention officers here in the Mission.  As part of their job they contact at risk youth and gang members every day.  Sometimes they make arrests for violations of the law and sometimes they just check in to see how people are doing.  Occasionally they are able to help some of these young men find an alternative to the streets and get them a job.  Officers Catahey and Sands are outstanding cops who are truly committed to improving the Mission District one person at a time. 

Greetings,

This weekend will be a very busy one for the Mission District and the City as we prepare for the Super Bowl and the celebrations that are likely to follow.  The SFPD has devoted extra resources for the Mission and we will have officers out in force throughout the district to address any illegal behavior.  In preparation for the big day we have also planned with various City agencies such as the Fire Department, DPW, MTA, ABC, the Sheriff’s Department as well as Recology to provide coordinated services.   As always, we ask that fans celebrate legally and respectfully.  Have a great weekend and Go 49ers!

Have a great weekend and Go 49ers!

Captain Moser

Greetings,

This weekend the San Francisco 49ers will play the Atlanta Falcons for the NFC Championship and the right to go to the Super bowl.  We expect that the Mission District will be full of enthusiastic fans.  We will have extra officers present during and after the game throughout the Mission.  We ask that fans celebrate legally and respectfully.

The San Francisco Police Commission is hosting a series of town hall meetings to discuss Electronic Control Weapons.  The schedule is as follows:

·         January 22, 2013, 6 pm to 8 pm: Hamilton Recreation Center

·         February 4, 2013, 6 pm to 8 pm: Scottish Rite Center

·         February 11, 2012, 6 pm to 8 pm: Bayview Opera House 

Everyone is encouraged to attend these informative meetings.

Officers from Mission Station have made several outstanding arrests this week including arrest of a known gang member who was in possession of a loaded firearm and narcotics.  The officers made the arrest as a result of a traffic stop at 20th and South Van Ness at 12:45 AM on Tuesday, January 15, 2013.

Have a great weekend,

Captain Robert Moser

Greetings,

On January 6, at approximately 2:40AM, a woman was assaulted in the area of 23rd and Guerrero Streets.  The suspect attacked the victim as she was walking alone in the area and threw her to the ground and attempted to pin her down.  The victim was able to fight her attacker off and he fled the area.  The suspect is described as a 5’8-tall Asian man who weighs approximately 160 pounds, between the ages of 20 and 30. He has a buzzcut and a slight beard and was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.  Mission Station Officers have been saturating the area with patrols especially during the late night hours.  Please be cognizant of any suspicious behavior and report it to police immediately.

Mission Station has instituted dedicated Housing Patrol officers this year.  These officers will patrol the Mission’s two housing developments; The Valencia Gardens and the Bernal Dwellings.  These officers will be a great resource to Mission Station, as we will use them not only for crime suppression, but also in community policing efforts in the developments. 

This week Mission Station Officers conducted a joint enforcement operation with Adult Probation in and around the areas of the BART Plazas located at 16th and 24th and Mission Streets.  The officers’ arrested thirteen suspects for a variety of charges including narcotics, warrant arrests and stay-a-way order violations.  Officers also issued 41 citations.

Have a great weekend,

Captain Moser