By Jonathan Farrell

Taraval Station’s new leadership in command since this past fall is Capt. Brien Hoo.

Hoo was born in San Francisco and raised in the Taraval/Parkside District. He attended Herbert Hoover Middle School and Abraham Lincoln High School.

“After high school, I enlisted into the armed services at the U.S. Army West Region Recruiting Station in San Francisco and served my country as a U.S. Army soldier,” he said.

He said his training and duties in the Army prepared him to be a police officer; a soldier’s primary role is that of defender and protector.

“I entered the Police Academy in January of 1995,” he said. “Throughout out my career, I served in a variety of patrol assignments.

“I was promoted in March 2023, and was assigned as the night captain prior to being assigned to Taraval Station on Sept 2. I look forward to serving the district where I grew up,” Hoo said.

Hoo acknowledged the neighborhood’s challenges. Merchants and local businesses have been concerned about the increase of burglaries in the Sunset and Richmond districts.

Burglary, vandalism and various forms of car theft is something that Hoo and the staff at Taraval Station are also well aware of. He said they empathize with merchants as well as residents and recognize the frustration and pain such crimes cause.

The most pressing concern right now for Hoo is staffing.

“Our department is short officers and that translates to longer response times department wide,” he said. “The department is actively hiring officers to bring our numbers up.”

San Francisco has one of the highest crime rates in America, according to Neighborhood Scout, an online database and analysis of crime statistics.

The database was established in 2002 by Andrew Schiller, a geography major at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Neighborhood Scout noted that, compared to all communities of all sizes, from the smallest towns to the very largest cities, in San Francisco “one’s chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in is 1 in 15.”

Much of the crime San Francisco encounters is in heavily touristed areas such as Alamo Square, Fisherman’s Wharf and the Palace of Fine Arts. While city officials proclaimed this past December that car break-ins had decreased since August of 2023, SF Police Chief Bill Scott noted that the increased crackdown is just a start.

Cars as well as homes are less likely to be burglarized if nothing entices them to become a target. Leaving valuables in plain sight, having doors or windows unlocked, poorly lit areas, and not alerting police or neighbors when suspicious activity is lurking or suspected, are invitations to criminals.

Hoo said neighbors keeping an eye out for each other and each other’s property helps.

According to the database website, the Sunset, Parkside and Richmond districts are among the City’s safest areas.

Residents and merchants are encouraged to contact Taraval Station, especially when they witness suspicious activities and any threat to safety and neighborhood security. Taraval Station’s phone is 415-553-0123.

Or, if residents and merchants prefer to be anonymous in reporting suspicious activity, they are encouraged to call 415-575-4444.

Learn more at sanfranciscopolice.org.