SFPD to add 10 cops to patrol Mid-Market
San Francisco Mayor London Breed has directed the Police Department to ramp up foot patrols around the Mid-Market corridor — it’s the latest incremental step in the city’s effort to rejuvenate the area and rid it of the drug pushers that have long congregated there.
On Wednesday, Breed is expected to announce that 10 additional officers, two sergeants and a lieutenant will be reassigned to the SFPD’s Tenderloin Station. They’ll be walking beats through Mid-Market, Civic Center and U.N. Plaza — all highly trafficked areas that city officials are trying to unify into safe, active gathering spots for tourists, residents and surrounding businesses.
Breed said the new cops
will also work to forge deeper bonds with the people who live and work in and around Mid-Market, a part of the city that includes clusters of dense housing and commercial buildings.
“I’ve been focused on adding foot patrol officers in our city because we know community policing works,” she said in a statement sent by a spokesman. “When our officers are out there everyday walking the streets, talking with people and developing relationships, they create a positive presence and build community trust, which helps our efforts to make our city clean, safe and welcoming for everyone.”
The new officers will canvass the area between Fourth and Eighth streets along Market, including Hallidie Plaza, U.N. Plaza and Civic Center. According to the mayor’s office, an average of 40,000 BART and Muni riders exit the Powell Street Station daily during the work week, while 33,000 flow out of the Civic Center Station daily.
Not long ago, the area — home to the local government and many of the city’s most important arts and cultural institutions — was a grim showcase of San Francisco’s most persistent problems, including homelessness, open-air drug use and aggressive street behavior.
“Visitors can feel threatened. They don’t feel safe going down Market Street,” said Joe D’Alessandro, CEO of SF Travel, the city agency that markets San Francisco as a destination. “We’ve had many cases where people got their phones stolen, that kind of thing.”
But a concerted effort over the past year has directed city departments and resources to cleaning up the area and transforming it into a vibrant public gathering spot. A Bi-Rite Cafe just opened in Civic Center, a stone’s throw from the Helen Diller Civic Center Playgrounds, which opened in February. A winter park — complete with a 6,000-square-foot ice rink — is set to open this month.
“People have been very encouraged by the investments we’ve been making and the commitments we’ve stood behind in terms of additional officers,” said Joaquin Torres, director of the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. The slowly improving conditions in Mid-Market and Civic Center, Torres said, have helped to attract nonprofits and businesses along Market Street.
SFPD Chief Bill Scott said the officers who soon will be walking the Mid-Market and Civic Center beats will be working closely the health and homelessness departments to provide aid to homeless people and addicts who assemble there.
“We can be a conduit to get people to services. We have to take advantage of the many services the city has to offer,” Scott said. “And we want to reduce crime in that area as well. We want to make sure that people can come there and enjoy the public space for what it is.”