Patrol in the Mission, 10/18/08

The weather was nice today and the Mission was packed with people because of the Red Bull Soapbox Race, but everything went OK.



We started our usual patrol by clearing Hunter's alley and securing several used needles. We collected 15 used needles today.


After that, we cleared Kid Power Park and headed to Dolores Park to briefly check out the scene of the soapbox race before moving on down Mission.
(Kid Power Park)


(Mission Dolores Park)

We walked down Mission and then up to Alioto Park where we came across several people drinking and sleeping in the park. We either woke them up or made them take their drinking elsewhere so families could enjoy the park, and then we headed back down Mission to the 25th St. BART station.

We posted up for a while at the station as there were several individuals who appeared to be under the influence and were arguing, but they eventually calmed down and left. We cleared Travis Alley before heading back up Mission to check on Alioto Park and Hunter's Alley again.
(Travis Alley)

When we came back through Hunter's Alley, we came across some tourists from Fremont who thought the alley was a good place to get out of the sun, but we advised them of the nature of this particular alley, and they decided it was a good idea to find somewhere else to hang out.

After riding the bus back and getting ready to call it a day, a woman came up to us on Market St. as someone had just stolen her purse and took off running. Her cell phone and wallet were in the purse, but someone a block away had come across the cell phone. We helped her locate it, but her wallet was long gone. Unfortunately, we were about a minute too late to have possibly prevented the crime.