Just one day after an alleged 17-car break-in spree in the Marina, riled up residents were itching for a fight at a Tuesday night town hall meeting, and gave plenty of grief to Supervisor Stefani, DA Jenkins, and SFPD Chief Bill Scott.
On Tuesday we mentioned a 17-car break-in spree in the Marina, a story which was just based on a Nextdoor post, but the Chronicle has since confirmed that SFPD received a 911 call describing this very crime. That Chronicle report also noted a curious bit of timing, saying, “The incident occurred on the eve of a previously scheduled neighborhood public-safety town hall meeting to address rising crime in the neighborhood.”
San Francisco Supervisor Stefani calling out crime in the Marina District. Residents angry and demanding change at 11 @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/2LVex7B7wL
— TerryMcSweeney (@TerryMcSweeney) January 18, 2023
That town hall meeting was held Tuesday night, and NBC Bay Area’s Terry McSweeney got the video clip above. It’s the district’s supervisor Catherine Stefani engaged in her boilerplate “This is unacceptable!” tough-on-crime rhetoric, which usually plays well for her. But the full video report on the meeting shows that what they call “several hundred riled citizens” shouted back at Stefani and Chief Scott in particular, venting their frustrations over a perceived crime spike.
TODAY: Cat converter booster crew shoots at SFPD officers. Responding to a cat converter theft call, officers tried to stop suspect vehicle. 3 suspects fled on foot & shot at officers. 1 suspect arrested; 5 cat converters & 1 gun recovered. 2 suspects at-large. pic.twitter.com/WrRvJFuLLW
— San Francisco POA (@SanFranciscoPOA) January 17, 2023
KPIX’s report on the meeting has some exclusive new security video of a disturbing break-in attempt in the Marina. We shouldn't forget the well publicized story about the garage in the neighborhood that was broken into three times last summer. And the meeting also coincided with a Tuesday catalytic converter theft with a car chase and some gunfire, a caper which occurred partially within Stefani’s district. Also, people are still up in arms over the November attacks on photographers at the Palace of Fine Arts, and another November incident of a baby somehow ingesting fentanyl at a Marina District Park
“We want action, we don’t need understanding!” one resident shouted at Stefani during the meeting. “We’re sick and tired of ‘understanding!’” Another pointedly yelled at the panel, “My two-year-old great granddaughter Victoria will never play in that park, because you haven’t kept it safe.”
But is crime really up in the Marina? The best data we can get is the SFPD Northern Station crime dashboard, which is the station with jurisdiction over the Marina, and it shows that crimes are actually down in the Marina compared to the previous year. But there is one very notable and eye-popping exception there on the fourth line, as reported burglaries in the Marina are up by a staggering 77.8%. So yes, in that regard, crime is absolutely up in the Marina.
But will these town halls solve anything? As NBC Bay Area puts it, “When it was all said and done, there seemed to be an agreement to have another town hall meeting.”
Image: SFPDChief via Twitter