Pubdate: Thu, 07 Mar 2002
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Francisco Examiner
Contact:  http://www.examiner.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/389
Author: Nina Wu, Examiner Staff

COPS TURN UP THE HEAT ON SIXTH

Police officers working the beat along Sixth Street have this stern message 
for drug dealers: It will be costly to do business here.

The amount of drug-related arrests for the past six months back up the message.

During that period, police made an average of 375 drug busts per month 
along the troubled corridor.

"It's gotten to the point where some of the brighter drug dealers are now 
staying away from Sixth Street," Lt. Mark Swendsen said.

"The heat is on year-round throughout this entire city. We've got a bunch 
of captains who are on crime like sharks on wounded fish."

Last week, in one of the biggest busts to date, police seized 300 crack 
rocks from dealers on Sixth Street. On Monday morning, police seized 
another 55 crack rocks in the neighborhood.

Officer Gary Constantine, a 20-year veteran of the force who patrols Sixth 
Street on foot, admitted there was more of a police presence in the area.

The impact of more eyes on the street put a dent in some businesses that 
catered to dealers, including a local clothing store. Crack merchants, who 
once came in weekly to buy $500 worth of merchandise, are now not as 
prominent, a local merchant said.

On average, officers in the district make close to 9,000 arrests a year, 
said Capt. Tony Parra of Southern Station. About 20 percent of those 
arrests revolve around the two blocks of Sixth Street between Market and 
Mission streets.

"The philosophy will always be that the heat is on, 365 days a year, 24 
hours a day," Parra said.

Still, officers who enforce the law realize the solution to cleaning up the 
crime corridor involves the surrounding community -- including action from 
the District Attorney's Office, tougher city legislation and resident 
vigilance, as well as businesses that don't cater to the lowlifes.

Almost every officer gets frustrated when an arrest they make results in a 
dropped case -- or when offenders get out only after a few days in jail, 
Swendsen said.

Many of those netted have multiple offenses on their records, with a range 
of 20 to 100 prior arrests that stretch back more than a decade, he said. 
But they bounce from a short, two-week stay in county jail back to the 
streets, only to get arrested again.

Take a woman who goes by the alias Monique Woodson, for instance. Police 
arrested her Monday for throwing a bag of crack into Jessie Alley off Sixth 
Street. She is already on probation for possession of crack for sale.

Court records indicate she was arrested as early as 1988 for auto theft, 
but has been bouncing from 16 days in county jail back to the streets, 
where she has been arrested numerous times for robbery, possession of crack 
for sale and public drunkenness.

To his credit, District Attorney Terence Hallinan has been more responsive 
to prosecuting crimes on Sixth Street, Swendsen said. He lauded the posting 
of Assistant District Attorney Michael Menesini, who Hallinan assigned to 
an office on the street, as a way of bringing the community together.

"We've got a lot of people who are mad as hell and not going to take it any 
more," Swendsen said.

One of them is Ana B. Arguello, manager of the Seneca Hotel. She runs a 
zero-tolerance policy for crack in the residential building and wishes it 
would apply outside the gates as well.

"Keep it up," she said. "It's working."

But she said police need to keep an eye on the alleyways when the 
temperature goes up. More crack users surface on those days.

Not that anyone should expect miracles.

"Sixth Street didn't happen overnight," Swendsen said. "It's going take 
time as well to clean it up."

During his watch, Swendsen said officers would be concentrating on making 
drug arrests because other crimes, such as robbery, assault and 
altercations, often ensue when dealers fight over territory and money.

At least one Sixth Street resident, Freddy Cowper, is pleased with the 
efforts so far.

"I can walk down the streets now," Cowper said. "I can walk down the street 
and get to work on time. It's cleaner."

"We're going out there and trying to knock the teeth out of drug use," 
Swendsen said. He wants to send a message to dealers -- find other places 
to sell dope.

"I hope they find religion and get a decent job," he said. "I hope they go 
somewhere other than San Francisco."
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