Capt. Sharon Ferrigno: Park tree vandal nabbed

As the captain of Richmond Station I have worked closely with community members on the complex traffic issues that our urban environment presents. My Community Policing Advisory Board, which is comprised of community members and business professionals, has supported me every step of the way. After 13 months of hard work we have made some significant progress in bringing the "Street Smarts" safety campaign to our district. I am incredibly proud of their hard work in making this dream a reality for our district. In the coming months we will be sharing more information on Street Smarts.

August 6 is National Night Out, which promotes community involvement in crime prevention. Please join me and the officers at Richmond Station for a barbecue, visit and get a first-hand look at some of the tools we deploy to prevent crime in our district.

In the spirit of teamwork, we cannot do our jobs alone; we need you, the community to be our partners in keeping the Richmond District safe. Please join us for National Night Out at Richmond Station from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. If you have not attended before please make an effort to stop by and we encourage you to bring your families, children and seniors. It's a great opportunity to get to know our officers, neighbors and other first responders.

Captain's message - July 17
Officer Dennis Lai made a fantastic arrest culminating in the seizure of a gun and the arrest of three suspects. Teamwork is at the core of our philosophy here at Richmond Station. Lai's arrest is an example of what is accomplished when we work together.

We continue with the planning process for Outside Lands. The Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR) will host a meeting on July 17 to hear community concerns. This was beneficial last year.

Captain's message - July 12
Officers from our Honda Unit arrested a man suspected of damaging trees in Golden Gate Park. Officers have been searching for him for some time. With the help of our colleagues at Rec. and Park, the man was finally apprehended when officers saw him damaging trees and took him into custody.

Our next Community meeting will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 6 p.m. It will be in the community room, here at the Richmond Station, 461 Sixth Ave. (note time change).

The Richmond Station distributes an e-mail newsletter every Friday. It contains information about recent crimes, arrests and upcoming events in the district. To be added to this list, please e-mail us at [email protected].

For additional information on crime statistics, go to the SFPD's website at sf-police.org.

Capt. Sharon Ferrigno is the commanding officer at the Richmond Station.