Category: Crime

  • A bit of SF in B’game

    I’m a big believer in the “Broken Window” theory. It posits:

    a criminological theory suggesting that visible signs of disorder (graffiti, litter, or broken windows) encourage further crime and antisocial behavior. First introduced by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982, it argues that maintaining order in communities helps prevent serious crime.

    The challenge is the police cannot be everywhere all the time. And so it was yesterday in the middle of the afternoon on El Camino at the Safeway bus stop. Shoppers were treated to a little bit of the Tenderloin as a guy decided to relieve himself right there in broad daylight. Nevermind that the Safeway restroom is open to all a one-minute walk away.

    The news, particularly the SF Comicle, is replete with reports of arrests of people that have 10, 15, or 25 prior arrests for all sorts of crimes including the violent ones that made that day’s news in the Ingleside neighborhood. I’ll bet that is the case here as well. Unfortunately, the news is also full of how slowly the Care Court we highighted almost two years ago is ramping up and I’ll bet it would help in this situation as well.

  • Smelling smoke in Sacramento: Is there fire?

    I’m smelling smoke in Sacramento and wondering how big the fire might get. When the SF Comicle decides to do a full-page piece on a corruption indictment of a very senior Newsom ex-staffer you know they are getting in front of something that blew up on X just a day or two ago. The SacBee led four days ago, and the WSJ was on it two days ago when one Dana Williamson appeared in court, but the Comicle has a way of ignoring or burying these stories on A10. Before anyone’s TDS gets triggered the WSJ writes:

    A federal investigation involving prominent former aides to Democratic politicians could generate uncomfortable questions as California pols seek higher office. The feds allege a conspiracy among former aides to raid a campaign account by billing it for bogus services. Since the investigation began during the Biden administration, it won’t be easy for Democrats to dismiss it as Trump lawfare.

    Apparently the Feds first reached out to Williamson asking questions about the Gavinor but she told them she Knew Nothing. She now sees where that got her. The smell of smoke is strong because all the support Newsom gave Biden before his TV crack-up. It couldn’t be retribution.

    Williamson was Newsom’s chief of staff until last November when she alerted Newsom of the investigation. Her little team is accused of (and two have plead guilty to bank and wire fraud) skimming $10K a month out of a dormant Xavier Becerra campaign account totaling $180K. The would-be governor Becerra called it a “gut punch”. But wait, there’s more from the SacBee:

    The charges also accuse Williamson of filing false tax returns, claiming more than $1 million in business deductions for personal expenses, including trips to luxury resorts in Mexico, designer handbags, jewelry, home furniture, and travel on private jets. The indictment also alleges that Williamson provided government information to a company involved in litigation with the state and lied about it to the FBI.

    All sorts of money has been sloshing around Sacramento for a long time. High-cost rail is billions over budget. Lost EDD money totalled $31 billion and Williamson is also accused of filing a fraudulent PPP claim. Non-profits and NGOs get grant money all the time for all sorts of things. The Newsom tab to solve homelessness is somewhere between $24 and $37 billion. And Williamson worked as director of public affairs for PG&E from 2006 to 2011. I bought extra popcorn today.

  • ECR Flooding: Four more years?

    Today is the first real rain of the season due to an atmospheric river that the media has been warning about for days. And right on schedule all of the usual flooding spots on El Camino are badly flooded. Anyone who has been in town more than a couple of years knows exactly where the bad spots are located. They also know to stick to the left southbound lane if possible. It’s dangerous. The $130 million Little Big Dig is expected to take four years–best case. So, will we have to wait four years to attack these known dangerous spots? Check this out.

    I had to stand back aways because the splashes were getting twice as high as this photo. Check out how far up ECR the pond extends and how deep it is on the sidewalk corner–8″.

    Nov 17: Here’s an update four days later after the second wave of this storm series landed last night. Cones are better than nothing. Maybe Caltrans is reading the Voice (not)!

  • Bank Robbery Revisited

    A packed house for the quarterly B’game Historical Society meeting heard former Chief Jack Van Etten recount the “take over” bank robbery and murder on the Avenew back in 2002. Jack asked that the meeting be held in memory of Brad Floyd–a long time BPD colleague who passed away on Tuesday. Jack and Brad were part of the investigation team into the robbery of the local Wells Fargo branch that also ended the life of branch manager Alice Martel.

    The gang in question had been robbing gas stations, convenience stores and restaurants all over the Bay Area when they decided to take things up a notch. Jack noted that most bank robberies involve quietly passing a note to a teller and perhaps showing a gun. This one was different. Two robbers entered via the back door, fired a shot at the ceiling and then another through the office door as Alice Martel tried to close it and call the police. She died at the scene leaving two young sons and her husband.

    With a haul of $4,000, the robbers exited via the front door, turned left on the Avenue and were picked up by the “wheel man” on Chapin Ave. They were photographed by the bank camera which added data to the trail of evidence from the prior robberies. Eventually the killer, Seti Scanlan, turned himself in up in Oregon as he tried to leave the country but was dissuaded by his family in Samoa. Scanlan confessed and got life without parole but died in prison under suspicious circumstances. The packed house had dozens of questions for Jack as many people were reminded of the whole sad affair of 23 years ago. Here’s the bank photo.

  • Hillsborough shooting: Reward goes up

    The Hillsborough PD are still looking for the shooter that hit an officer in their parking lot on Feb. 22nd.  We're a month in.  The state has stepped in with an additional $50K of reward money to add to the H'borough $100K.  Oddly enough the Comicle didn't mention the first $100K but did run the drawing of the suspect.  Here it is

    Hborough shooter

  • Crime Stats: 2024 trended in the right direction

    B'game PD collates the crime year-in-review annually and we bring it to you with historical context in an easily consumed format.  Last year's post highlighted the decline in catalytic converter theft; a trend that continued in 2024 almost to the point of vanishing.  It just goes to show that when you go after the buyers, the sellers have nowhere to sell.  Vehicle burglaries also declined a lot and a new category–Organized Retail Theft–was blessedly low.

    The big news of last year and this month was the two shootings–one fatal and the other luckily not fatal at the H'borough Police station.  Let's hope that trend does not continue to the point where we need to add a category.  The attempted abduction that was foiled by two Good Samaritans and quick police work gave us all pause but verified that license plate readers are valuable.  Chief Matteucci retired late last year after 33 years on the force and he one guy who is able to say that he "went out on a low note"–one of the few jobs where that is a good thing!  Here are the stats for 2024 and a photo of the retirement.

    Monthly Average                 2020     2021     2022     2023    2024

    Residential Burglaries             2         2         3             2        1

    Vehicle Burglaries                 20       25        24           23        13

    Thefts from Unlocked Vehicles 14     8          5             6        4

    Commercial Burglaries           6         5          5            4        2

    Construction site theft           1         1         1             2        <1

    Package thefts                       4         2         2             4        3

    Catalytic Converter Theft       6         9        11            4        <1

    Robberies                              2         2         1             1        <1

    Stolen Vehicles                      9         7         8             8         6

    Vandalism                             13     13         13           11        11

    Organized Retail Theft                                                        <1

     

    Matteucci retirement

  • Hillsborough Shooting: Still at large

    I knew something was up yesterday just after 4pm as a helicopter made its fourth circular pass over my house.  There had been some sirens as well and there were many more to follow as police cruisers raced up ECR for the next hour or more.  Around 7:30 I spotted a Mountain View cruiser parked in from of St. Catherine's lying in wait.  The SF Chronicle is reporting

    Hillsborough police continued to search Sunday for an assailant they say ambushed and shot an officer in the police department’s rear parking lot Saturday afternoon before fleeing on foot.  The violent incident occurred at 3:49 p.m. Saturday, when an “unknown individual” began firing and struck the officer in the lot at 1600 Floribunda Ave., near Hillsborough Town Hall. The officer returned fire as the assailant took off. Police did not know whether the assailant had been hit.

    Paramedics transported the wounded officer — who has not been identified — to San Francisco General Hospital as law enforcement began searching the area and “pursuing active leads'” to make an arrest, according to statements from the police department Saturday night.

    That sounds far from random to me and is probably the basis for the "active leads" bit.  I was also reminded of the snafus around the tsunami warnings last December noted here.  Why?  Because the SMC Alert to shelter in place didn't arrive until 9:54pm!  What's up with that?  I checked X, but BPD hasn't posted anything to its account there since August of 2023.

    Not wanting to drop into the rabbit holes that are Facebook and Nextdoor, I just kept listening to the chopper, and later a fixed wing plane, circle until well after dark.  I doubt you can see much looking for someone on foot in a neighborhood at 8pm from an airplane.  This makes two shooting in three months (see here), so we really have to get the public alert systems synchronized and operating in a timely fashion.  More to follow.

    Update:  An eagle-eyed reader provided this flight view of the Cessna 206 that circled endlessly.  The helicopter is not shown.

    Cessna circling

  • BPD shooting: First in a long time

    Oddly enough I was talking to a retired BPD chief last month about the last time a BPD officer had to draw their gun, never mind discharge it.  We seemed to recall it had been much more than a decade.  Even the Wells Fargo robbery and murder on the Ave. may not have caused a weapon to be drawn as the robbers were quick.  That streak came to an end on Saturday as the Comicle is reporting: 

    Around 2:53 a.m., officers responded to a 911 call reporting possible gunshots on the 800 block of North San Mateo Drive, according to the San Mateo Police Department. Officers found a man walking near the intersection of Jefferson Court and State Street. He pointed a firearm at the officers, causing them to move out of the line of fire, and then ran north on Jefferson Court, police said. 

    The officers, “fearing for their lives,” requested additional police units before chasing after the man, but they lost sight of him, police said. A Burlingame police officer located him a quarter-mile away, near the intersection of Bayswater Avenue and Myrtle Road, where he was holding a gun and standing in the middle of the roadway, police said.  Officers said they tried to deescalate the situation by giving the man verbal commands and discharged a rubber projectile to prompt him to drop his firearm, but he did not comply. At 4 a.m., one San Mateo officer and one Burlingame officer shot and struck the man, causing him to fall to the ground, police said.

    The man was reported to be in stable condition after the hour-long engagement.  The usual follow-up:  administrative leave for the two officers and investigations by BPD, SMPB and the DA will eventually tell us the rest of the story including the part that gets glossed over–the original "possible gunshots".

  • Attempted abduction– license plate readers prove out

    It's been two and a half years since the B'game city council voted 3-2 to install license plate readers in town.  You can read about Michael Brownrigg's and Emily Beach's opposed votes here.  Now we have stunning evidence of the wisdom of applying this technology in town.  As issued by BPD and repeated here in its entirety:

    On Saturday, November 2, 2024, at approximately 3:33 PM, officers from the Burlingame Police Department responded to a report of an attempted kidnapping involving an adult female near the intersection of Burlingame Avenue and Occidental Avenue. It was reported that a male suspect driving a dark-colored SUV approached the victim as she was walking. The suspect exited his vehicle, brandishing a black handgun, and ordered her to get into the SUV.

    The victim screamed for help as another vehicle passed which startled the suspect, causing him to flee the scene. A nearby witness heard the commotion and observed the suspect’s vehicle speeding away. This witness was able to provide a partial license plate number. Further investigation utilizing local Automated License Plate Reader cameras yielded photographs of the suspect vehicle and a complete license plate.

    At approximately 7:40 PM, with assistance from the Belmont Police Department, the suspect vehicle was located in the 500 block of O'Neill Ave in Belmont. An 18-year-old resident of San Mateo, found in possession of a black BB gun, was arrested and subsequently booked into the San Mateo County Jail for attempted kidnapping.

    The Burlingame Police Department urges anyone with additional information regarding this incident to contact the lead investigator, Sergeant Mike Bolanos, at 650-777-4142.

    That's four hours from incident to arrest.  What is not mentioned is that this attempt was apparently the second in a week or so by what is believed to be the same perpetrator.  The majority of Californian's have reached the breaking point on crime–small, medium and crazy dangerous like this one.  Prop. 36 is cruising to a win with a 70%+ margin even as our Gavinor claims it doesn't reflect our "California values".  Time for a gut check there.  But the craziness goes on.  Just last month this lawsuit was filed over Flock ALPR use in Virginia:

    A federal lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice against the Virginia city of Norfolk, challenging the city’s widespread deployment of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras.  The lawsuit argues that the city’s installation of more than 170 cameras on public roads constitutes an unconstitutional, warrantless surveillance program that monitors every motorist, raising questions about digital privacy and government overreach.

    Some people have a very weird idea of what constitutes justice. 

  • Poll: 70% say Bay Area quality of life has declined

    When I read headlines like 7 in 10 residents say the region’s quality of life is getting worse, I think about how bad the roads have become (looking at you, El Camino), how poorly many government agencies are being run, how much traffic there is, how we are losing control of our local voting and zoning, and public safety.  School quality, water security, utility costs—the list is long.  Having spent years in market research, I know a poll can be tweaked in any number of ways from who gets polled to how the questions and multiple-choice answers are phrased to who does the analysis of the results.  The Merc reported on the latest public sentiment here.  It notes

    According to the poll, 70% of registered voters said the Bay Area’s quality of life has worsened over the past five years, while just 13% said it has improved. Seventeen percent said it’s stayed the same.

    A whopping 46% of respondents said they were likely to leave the Bay Area in the next few years, with two-thirds of those citing high housing costs as the main reason to consider a move. During the pandemic, people fleeing the region contributed to a 3% population drop, though that exodus has since slowed.  When asked to select ways the region might best be improved, respondents’ top choice at 39% was building more affordable housing.

    Of course, that means 61% chose something other than to jam more people into the Bay Area.  See how the reporting can spin the story?  If the other choices had overlap to split the responses, 39% starts to look big.

    Homeowners in the poll (note, that percentage is not revealed) also said the state’s home insurance meltdown is hitting their finances. Fifty-two percent said their home insurance premiums have increased significantly, 22% said they have avoided using their home insurance policy out of fear of cancellation or rising rates, 12% said they’ve had a difficult time finding an insurer to write them a policy and 8% said an insurer had canceled a policy.

    Insurance has been slipping down a slippery slope for years with no real solution from the state. And many renters don't realize their rent is tied to the insurance on their apartment.  Then there is this bit of Sacramental hand-waving following on the heels of even more restrictions on drilling.  When you leave the state the gas prices are almost unreal—unreal low.

    To prevent spikes in gas prices, state lawmakers are now considering a plan from Gov. Gavin Newsom to force oil refiners to keep minimum fuel reserves, though doing so likely wouldn’t lower overall prices at the pump.

    The piece finishes off by describing some people who think Silicon Valley giants are "villains" who have "lost their moral compass".  I can't understand where that is coming from or what it has to do with the quality of life in the Bay Area.  At least the piece noted huge support for Prop. 36 to get the organized theft back under control and remove the locked plastic doors protecting shampoo and deodorant.  The big question remains how many people we should jam into the Peninsula?  The RHNA requirements are nonsense, but they are driving down the quality of life for long-time residents who look at things like this on the north end and wonder "why"?  That's the B'game police building in the front.

    Monster building over PD

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