San Francisco County Grand Jury • 2015-2016

Auto Burglary in San Francisco

Published: June 02, 2016 63 pages
View Original PDF

Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F7, F8

Findings and Recommendations 11 findings

F1
Recognize tourists as a valued and welcome guest to our criminal prosecution that seeks all available city. sentencing enhancements.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Allow clear sight lines: vehicles should be visible as the driver returns.
F2
Acknowledge vulnerabilities unique to visitors/tourists.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Provide adequate lighting: Install lighting in areas where vehicles are parked.
F3
Denounce the targeting and victimizing of visitors/ tourists. F.F.5. Finding
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Minimize concealed and isolated routes: Parking areas should be open and accessible.
F4
Recognize the need for specialized services for visitors/tourist who have been victimized by crime. Government must provide essential services to
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Avoid entrapment: Roadways and pathways are through-ways not dead-ends.
F5
Establish the program as a partnership between visitor/tourist crime victims to support their immediate government and the visitor and tourism industry. needs. A temporary replacement identification card
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Reduce isolation: Parking areas should be near activity areas.
F6
Designate and funds a public safety department to act as supports the victim’s efforts to access banking services, revise flight plans, pass through coordinating agency. transportation security at the airport, or continue their 7. Authorizethe agency to develop industry partnerships. holiday in San Francisco. 8. Authorize the agency to issue a temporary replacement F.F.6 Finding identification card, for visitors and tourists who have had Government, industry and not-for-profit partnerships their identification stolen. can work together to meet needs following 9. Instruct the police, sheriff and district attorney to pursue victimization. vigorous criminal prosecution.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Promote land use mix: Mixed usage promotes activity and reduces isolation.
F9
Provide signs and information: Inform of risks and direct toward activities.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
Provide signs and information: Inform of risks and direct toward activities.
F10
Advise the district attorney to seek sentencing enhancement when it is appropriate.
Related Recommendations (1)
R10
Consider overall design, form, and function as part of the planning approval process. Homeowners, developers, and government entities can implement these strategies in new projects as well as the maintenance and management of existing properties. Programs as Deterrents: The San Francisco Community Ambassadors Program is designed to be a non-law enforcement, public safety program. Its members work in teams, wearing bright yellow and black jackets with “San Francisco Community Ambassador” and the city logo printed on the back of the garment. Teams patrol their designated neighborhoods, along major transit/merchant corridors in high crime areas, assisting and interacting with residents as they create a safe presence and resource for the community. Members are city employees who receive extensive training and have resources to call for help and provide assistance. Ambassadors serve the community in many ways: They hand out educational materials and information on city programs and services. They often volunteer for community events, and provide directions and answer questions. And, they serve as a safe and visible presence in the community. The Community Ambassadors Program is administered by the Mayor’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEA) and has been praised by merchants and residents in the neighborhoods it serves. The employees are multi-lingual, represent the diversity of San Francisco, and several are individuals who are determined to overcome life challenges from their own pasts and to make a better life. Many of the community ambassadors have transitioned to permanent positions in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors at the end of their 18-month participation in the program. The Community Ambassadors Program is an example of a deployment of human capital for public safety. In addition to efforts to deter auto burglary by prevention, planning, and programs for the would- be victim, San Francisco also offers pre-trial diversion programs for young and first time offenders through neighborhood courts. The presumption of innocence before trial allows many who are accused of auto burglary to participate in alternative programs to incarceration, including supervised release, or home detention through electronic monitoring. Punishment as a Deterrent: Incarceration is a traditional form of punishment used by the American criminal justice system. Incarceration is the most expensive and inefficient form of punishment. The outcomes of incarceration are widely debated throughout society. There are few alternatives to incarceration for communities for managing serious, violent, and chronic offenders. Modern theory of crime and punishment describe five purposes for incarceration as shown in Table 3:23 Table 3: Purposes for Incarceration
F11
Charge the chief of police and the district attorney to collaborate with the United States Attorney’s Office, F.F.7. R.F.1. Northern Division of California, San Francisco, to refer Finding appropriate cases to federal authorities for prosecution Presently, San Francisco does not account for under interstate/international commerce law and/or Federal crimes against victims/tourists. City Government Criminal Street Gang Enhancements. needs reliable information to develop further policy and act to protect visitors, tourists. and the City’s tourism industry. Continued ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Response Matrix Findings, Recommendations and Responding Parties Auto Burglary In San Francisco ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ R.F.1. Continued
Related Recommendations (1)
R11
Charge the Chief of Police and the District Attorney to collaborate with the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern Division of California, San Francisco, to refer appropriate cases to federal authorities for prosecution under interstate/international commerce law and/or Federal Criminal Street Gang enhancements.
F12
Include a visitor/tourist identification field on Police Incident Reports to facilitate research and data gathering.
Related Recommendations (1)
R12
Provide for the inclusion of a visitor/tourist identification field on Police Incident Reports to facilitate research and data gathering into this problem.
F13
Require the coordinating agency to report annually to the Public Safety Committee of the Board of Supervisors. The report shouldprovide performance metricsabout services offered and make recommendations to inform future policy related to crimes against visitors/tourists. F.F.8. Corresponds to R.F.2. F.F.8. Finding Responder R.F.2. Recommendation Responder The visitor's tab on sfgov.org, the City's Internet Mayor and Director The visitor’s tab on the San Francisco Gov.org Mayor and Director of homepage, does not provide resources for of Department of homepage should contain information to assist Department of visitors/tourists in distress. Technology. visitors/tourists who are in need of victims Technology. assistance and other kinds of support services. F.F.9. Corresponds to R.F.3. F.F.9 Finding Responder R.F.3. Recommendation Responder Visitor/tourist selection on SFPD Incident Mayor and Director Include visitor/tourist incident data as a search Mayor and Director of Reports should be a search/sort field for SFPD of Department of field on police incident report available though Department of incident reports on datasfgov.org Technology, datasfgov.org. Technology, Deputy Deputy Chief of Chief of Admin. Admin. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GLOSSARY All definitions from: Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook (2004) United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime and Delinquency in California (1993) Criminal Justice Profile Series, Law Enforcement Information Center. California Legislative Information Website (2016). leginfo/CA.gov ______________________________________________________________________________ ARREST: Taking a person into custody, in a case and in the manner authorized by law. An arrest may be made by a peace officer or by a private person." (P.C. 834) BURGLARY: the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. Attempted burglary is included. (UCR definition) Burglary of a Motor Vehicle: See California Penal Code Section 459, 460, 661) In California, Burglary of a motor vehicle is classified as 2nd Degree Burglary and is punishable by up to one year in the county jail. Under UCR Burglary of Vehicle is classified as Larceny/Theft. CALIFORNIA CRIME INDEX: a group of crimes chosen to serve as an index for gauging fluctuations in the overall volume and rate of crime. These crimes, chosen because of their seriousness and likelihood of being reported to the police by the public, are willful homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft. These crimes are reported according to definitions taken from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook. http://www.plsinfo.org/healthysmc/12/glossary.html CITATION: a written order, issued by the police for a violation, to appear before a magistrate or probation officer at a later date CLASSIFICATION: Determining the proper crime categories in which to report offenses in UCR. The offense’s classification is based on the facts of an agency’s investigation of crimes. CLEARANCE: a crime is cleared or "solved" for crime reporting purposes. CLEARED BY ARREST: An offense is considered cleared when at least one person involved in the commission of the offense has been (1) arrested, (2) charged, and (3) turned over to the court for prosecution. CLEARED BY EXCEPTIONAL MEANS: clearance in which some element beyond law enforcement control prevents filing of formal charges against the offender. Agencies can clear an offense exceptionally if they can answer all of the following in the affirmative. (1) Has the investigation definitely established the identity of the offender? (2) Is there enough information to support an arrest, charge, and turning over to the court for prosecution? (3) Is the exact location of the offender known so that the subject could be taken into custody now? (4) Is there some reason outside law enforcement control that precludes arresting, charging, and prosecuting the offender (for example, suicide, deathbed confession, double murder, etc. COMPSTAT: Compstat is a process or philosophy of crime management, it is not a computer program or software. Compstat is a combination of technical and managerial systems that provides accurate and timely crime related intelligence. Furthermore, it is a measurement system of organizational performance and an interactive system that focuses on organization as a whole, and specifies certain policies to accomplish agency‘s mission CRIMINAL STREET GANG means any ongoing organization, association or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts... having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=186.20- 186.34 DIVERSION: a disposition of a criminal defendant either before adjudication or following adjudication but prior to sentencing, in which the court directs the defendant to participate in a work, educational, or rehabilitation program. DIVERSION DISMISSED: the successful completion of a diversion program. FBI CRIME INDEX: the FBI chose seven crimes to serve as an index for gauging fluctuations in the overall volume and rate of crime. These crimes include homicide, forcible raps, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. By congressional mandate. arson was added as the eighth index crime in 1979. FELONY: a crime which is punishable with death or by imprisonment in the state prison." (P.C. 17 & 18) FENCE: In the context of this report the word "fence" is used as a noun to refer to a person who buys and sells stolen goods, and as a verb in reference to the act of buying or selling stolen goods. JAIL: a county or city facility for incarceration of sentenced and unsentenced persons. Also known as type I or II facility (Section 1006 California Code of Regulations). HIERARCHY OF OFFENSES RULE: For Federal Crime Reporting Purposes Only: When an Arrest involves multiple offences only the highest among the offences are reported. The Part I offenses are as follows:
Related Recommendations (1)
R13
Require the coordinating agency to report annually to the Public Safety Committee of the Board of Supervisors. The report should inform future policy and decisions regarding visitor and tourist related crime, give information about services offered, research conducted, and include significant R.F.2. Mayor and Director of Department of Technology. The visitor’s tab on the San Francisco Gov.org homepage should contain information to assist visitors/tourists who are in need of victim’s assistance and other kinds of support services. R.F.3. Mayor and Director of Department of Technology, Deputy Chief of Administration Include visitor/tourist incident data as a search field on police incident reports available through datasfgov.org. CONCLUSION Auto burglary is prevalent in every community because it represents lower risk and higher gains than many other crimes. The epidemic of auto burglary in San Francisco has many causes; significant among them are population density, wide socioeconomic differences, and desirability of San Francisco as a place to visit, live, work and play. Geography is a significant factor that works against police and works in favor of the career criminals and criminal street gangs responsible for most of the reported auto burglary related incidents. Criminal street gangs are experienced and use efficient techniques that are quick, calculated, and enable them to avoid apprehension. With many of these gangs working at any given time, their prolific criminal enterprises would challenge any city’s police department. San Francisco’s community policing focus benefits the City’s residents as individuals, families, neighbors, and as a community of people with many languages and cultures. Nevertheless, organizing primarily for community policing works to the benefit of career criminals. This is because career criminals move around the City without regard for precinct boundaries, or cross the city limits as they speed out a town. The mobility of career criminals argues for a permanent serial crimes unit at headquarters that enables cross-district investigations. Cross-district investigations are often required to bridge the gap between the evidentiary standard of “probable cause” to make an arrest as opposed to that of “beyond a reasonable doubt” to support charging and successful prosecution. In brief, the Civil Grand Jury makes the following recommendations:  Balance police resources to meet the needs of neighborhoods,  Develop capacity to analyze and respond to auto burglary crimes as a city-wide problem,  Promote prevention through community education,  Support police efforts to apprehend suspects with solid evidence,  Build solid cases for local prosecutors to charge and negotiate,  Identify new approaches to prosecuting cases that protect economic interests,  Introduce a visitor and tourist crime prevention and support programs. We are confident that implementation of our recommendations will significantly decrease auto burglary incidents and prepare the city to identify and efficiently respond to future crime trends. By establishing a tourist protection and assistance program, we advance social justice and protect the character of San Francisco as a place where people want to be: to visit, live, work and play. Response Matrix

Additional Recommendations 2

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

Conclusions 8