On the SAFE Side...

Fireworks are wonderful for celebrations, but are illegal and often dangerous. Please enjoy any 4th of July festivities in a safe area where there are managed firework shows put on by the City and County of San Francisco. If you see people lighting fireworks, please call the police immediately.

If you have plans to barbeque over the weekend, watch the grill at all times. Supervise children around the barbeque. Keep an eye on your children at all times, whether you are at the park, the beach, the pool, or watching a fireworks show.

Are you going on vacation? - Here are some reminders to help prevent your home from being burglarized:

SFPD uses Social Media as a tool for Community Policing.
A discussion with Commander Richard Corriea and Captain Ann Mannix.

From a phone interview with Captain Mannix:
A young woman goes out for a cup of coffee in the Marina. Upon leaving the café, she realizes that her wallet has been stolen. Working together with the café owner she posts the surveillance video to Youtube, asking “Have you seen this man?” SFPD sees the video, identifies the man and links him with a string of similar crimes, he is prolific and has hit all over the bay area. He is referred to as the "blue-tooth bandit" (since he always has one in his ear). According to Northern Station Captain, Ann Mannix, “Social media goes beyond outreach and education, it can be a useful tool to solve crimes and ultimately prevent crime.”

Captain Mannix uses Youtube herself in a series of PSA (Public Service Announcement) videos which use hot topics to engage and educate the community. She also uses Twitter to tweet tips and interesting arrests. She has more than 100 followers and more subscribers every day.

Social Media has great potential for community policing because it provides another platform to get and share information. Not only is Captain Mannix excited to use social media tools with the community she serves but also recognizes that it is an effective vehicle internally as well. SFPD can share video on youtube with probation and the sheriff’s department to help identify suspects.

Although conventional media, newspapers and TV are the still effective means to communicate information, as they reach a lot of people, Captain Mannix is excited by these new forms of media and how they can connect members in her district to the issues she faces and hopes that community policing will be stronger as people use it more and more.

SAFE would like to congratulate the Alice Griffith Safety Committee on their recent community event “Oldies but Goodies, a Neighborhood Party”. The event was attended by many community members and several nonprofit organizations serving the community. It featured a DJ, live performances, children’s activities, a jumpy house, cotton candy, food and much community spirit. Thank you to all of you who helped support this event, and for your continued efforts to reduce crime and violence in Alice Griffith. You are making a difference.

On June 15^th SAFE Neighborhood Watch Block Captains and Leaders met for another quarterly meeting to discuss a topic near and dear to hearts of almost everyone living in San Francisco – recycling theft. We all know the issues: noise, garbage strewn about, fear of identity theft, etc. Is there a solution?

To answer this question SAFE invited a panel of experts including Bob Besso, Recycling and Waste Reduction Manager from Recology; Commander Michael Biel, Captain Denis O’Leary and Lt. Jason Cherniss from the SFPD; Greg Crump of DPW; and Assistant District Attorney Maria Shih. During a very honest conversation with SAFE’s Block Captains, the panelists shared their vision of the problem, what is being done and what they see as obstacles to effectively dealing with recycling theft.

At this point, there are still more questions than clear answers. We are in the process of forming a working group and asking for volunteers who, together with the meeting’s panelists, will be working on finding solutions and coming up with an action plan. If you would like to participate in the working group please e-mail us at SAFEleaders@sfsafe.org. For more on this meeting, please read the meeting minutes.

Start a Neighborhood Watch Group

SAFE is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. You can help us to provide essential crime prevention and public safety services by making a tax-deductible donation, either by check or clicking on the JustGive link below. Please check out our website, www.sfsafe.org for updates and information! Thank you for helping us to create safer neighborhoods!


July 2011 Newsletter	Greetings SAFE Friends & Supporters,
In This Issue Holiday Safety SFPD Explores Social Media Alice Griffith Block Party Block Captain & Leaders Meeting 5K Fun Run/Walk for SAFEty NERT Trainings Are you prepared for an emergency or a disaster? NERT can help you and your neighbors learn more about preparedness and what to do when an emergency occurs. Upcoming training will be held in Crocker Amazon. The SF Christian Center will host at 5845 Mission St betw. Acton & Oliver Tuesdays 6:30pm-9:30pm Class 1: July 12 Class 2: July 19 Class 3: July 26 Class 4: August 2 Class 5: August 9 Class 6: August 16 NERT Training Schedule SAFE & Social Networking Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for weekly updates, tips and hints and share your story with SAFE. Other News and Events According to The Neighborhood Park Council 2010 Playground Report Card playground safety conditions are improving. See how your local parks and playgrounds fared and where work is still needed. SAFE can help groups organize to improve park safety. SF CARD is organizing a Disaster Preparedness Conference in the Bayview on July 7th. Everyone is welcome. Join SAFE's Public Safety Coordinator, Troy Sanders as he attends and learns about what he can do for himself and his neighborhood. Click for the Flyer! SAFE in the News Find SAFE highlighted in an article for Neighborhood Newswire.	Safety during the Holiday Weekend July 4th Weekend is Here! Fireworks are wonderful for celebrations, but are illegal and often dangerous. Please enjoy any 4th of July festivities in a safe area where there are managed firework shows put on by the City and County of San Francisco. If you see people lighting fireworks, please call the police immediately. If you have plans to barbeque over the weekend, watch the grill at all times. Supervise children around the barbeque. Keep an eye on your children at all times, whether you are at the park, the beach, the pool, or watching a fireworks show. Safety Tips for Visitors and Tourists Do you have friends coming in to the City for the July 4th Holiday? Even in times of celebration and festivities, ensure your guests practice proper safety techniques: Do not leave valuables or anything visible inside your vehicle; always keep doors and trunk locked. Walk in well-lit and well-populated areas, preferrably with another person; do not take short-cuts through dark alleyways. Limit your valuables (ID and money) by carrying only what you need for the day. If taking public transportation, have your money or Fast Pass ready. Do not fumble with your wallet; you might draw attention of a pickpocket. Keep your cell phone charged and in case of an emergency dial 9-1-1. Are you going on vacation? - Here are some reminders to help prevent your home from being burglarized: Keep all doors and windows locked. Let a trusted neighbor know you will be out of town. Stop mail and newspaper deliveries. Keep a light on. Enable your alarm if you have one. Click here for more Safety Tips & Information. SFPD uses Social Media as a tool for Community Policing. A discussion with Commander Richard Corriea and Captain Ann Mannix. From the desk of Commander Corriea: Twitter: A little canvas of 140 characters is changing the world one tweet at a time. At Richmond Station, following the lead of Northern Station, we started tweeting in late February 2011 and now have nearly 600 followers. During my thirty-one years in law enforcement I hadn’t expected that I would have staff meetings to discuss tweets and re-tweets! Now I think that Twitter, however curious the nomenclature may be, provides us with a valuable crime fighting tool. Our followers include bloggers and sites that re-tweet our posts to their subscribers, and through them we are reaching more than 10,000 people with connections to Richmond Station’s geographic jurisdiction. And that number grows every day. We are using the tool to alert followers as to specific crimes in their neighborhoods. We don’t editorialize or give too much advice; we just let folks know what happed and where it happened. We also inform them of the type of property that is being taken by suspects. Our goal is simple: we give followers the information they need to assess their risk of becoming a victim so that they can better manage that risk. More specifically, in the context of the crime triangle, we tweet information concerning opportunities that criminals exploit, locations where criminals target victims, the property thieves seek and behaviors that may precipitate a person becoming a victim. Twitter is a great tool for all of use to work together to make our communities even safer. I see an ever increasing role for social media in general in our quest for crime free communities. From a phone interview with Captain Mannix: A young woman goes out for a cup of coffee in the Marina. Upon leaving the café, she realizes that her wallet has been stolen. Working together with the café owner she posts the surveillance video to Youtube, asking “Have you seen this man?” SFPD sees the video, identifies the man and links him with a string of similar crimes, he is prolific and has hit all over the bay area. He is referred to as the "blue-tooth bandit" (since he always has one in his ear). According to Northern Station Captain, Ann Mannix, “Social media goes beyond outreach and education, it can be a useful tool to solve crimes and ultimately prevent crime.” Captain Mannix uses Youtube herself in a series of PSA (Public Service Announcement) videos which use hot topics to engage and educate the community. She also uses Twitter to tweet tips and interesting arrests. She has more than 100 followers and more subscribers every day. Social Media has great potential for community policing because it provides another platform to get and share information. Not only is Captain Mannix excited to use social media tools with the community she serves but also recognizes that it is an effective vehicle internally as well. SFPD can share video on youtube with probation and the sheriff’s department to help identify suspects. Although conventional media, newspapers and TV are the still effective means to communicate information, as they reach a lot of people, Captain Mannix is excited by these new forms of media and how they can connect members in her district to the issues she faces and hopes that community policing will be stronger as people use it more and more. Alice Griffith Organizes a Celebration of community! SAFE would like to congratulate the Alice Griffith Safety Committee on their recent community event “Oldies but Goodies, a Neighborhood Party”. The event was attended by many community members and several nonprofit organizations serving the community. It featured a DJ, live performances, children’s activities, a jumpy house, cotton candy, food and much community spirit. Thank you to all of you who helped support this event, and for your continued efforts to reduce crime and violence in Alice Griffith. You are making a difference. Neighborhood Watch Block Captains & Leaders Discuss Recycling Theft On June 15^th SAFE Neighborhood Watch Block Captains and Leaders met for another quarterly meeting to discuss a topic near and dear to hearts of almost everyone living in San Francisco – recycling theft. We all know the issues: noise, garbage strewn about, fear of identity theft, etc. Is there a solution? To answer this question SAFE invited a panel of experts including Bob Besso, Recycling and Waste Reduction Manager from Recology; Commander Michael Biel, Captain Denis O’Leary and Lt. Jason Cherniss from the SFPD; Greg Crump of DPW; and Assistant District Attorney Maria Shih. During a very honest conversation with SAFE’s Block Captains, the panelists shared their vision of the problem, what is being done and what they see as obstacles to effectively dealing with recycling theft. At this point, there are still more questions than clear answers. We are in the process of forming a working group and asking for volunteers who, together with the meeting’s panelists, will be working on finding solutions and coming up with an action plan. If you would like to participate in the working group please e-mail us at SAFEleaders@sfsafe.org. For more on this meeting, please read the meeting minutes. Start a Neighborhood Watch Group Save the date! 5K Fun Run/Walk for SAFEty on October 30th! SAFE is raising awareness of child and family safety at our 3rd Annual 5K Fun Run/Walk for SAFEty! We believe that everyone has the right to be safe, espeically our kids! Please save the date of October 30th and join us with the whole family! More details to follow. To get involved or volunteer, please contact Oona for more information. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SAFE is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. You can help us to provide essential crime prevention and public safety services by making a tax-deductible donation, either by check or clicking on the JustGive link below. Please check out our website, www.sfsafe.org for updates and information! Thank you for helping us to create safer neighborhoods! Be SAFE! --The Staff & Board of SAFE
Forward this message to a friend \| (415) 553.1984