We had the opportunity to host Captain Clayton Harmston, the newly appointed captain of SFPD’s Taraval Station, at a SHARP public forum on November 18. With 25 years on the force, including earning the Gold Medal of Valor and Purple Heart, Captain Harmston brings deep experience to the city’s largest and most populous district, which includes the Sunset, Forest Hill, Parkside, Golden Gate Heights, and surrounding Westside neighborhoods.

Harmston shared updates on crime trends, enforcement priorities, and staffing efforts in the Taraval District, and took thoughtful questions from residents about public safety, response times, neighborhood concerns, and how the department is working with the community to prevent crime.

Captain Harmston said his top priorities are:
1)	Provide a patrol car in each neighborhood sector. For the safety of his officers, his aim is to ensure that each patrol has two officers. 
2)	Provide patrol beats in each main neighborhood shopping area: Stonestown, West Portal, Ocean Avenue, Irving and Noriega Streets.

Crime is down in Taraval District this year to date by 27% for property crimes and 14% for violent crimes over 2024. The police conducted two blitzes against organized retail crime at Stonestown recently.  They netted 13 arrests and recovered tens of thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise, with assistance from the CHP and Sherriff’s Department. Some of the prolific offenders arrested had outstanding warrants for other robberies. 

Staffing problems within the SFPD are real. When he was a patrolman, Harmston says the Taraval Station District had upwards of 100 officers on patrol.  When he was a Sergeant, Taraval had 85-90 officers.  Now, only 56 officers are available. Citywide, the police department is down 500-600 officers. That means a lot of overtime for his officers, and he’s concerned about their well-being under those circumstances.

But there are some hopeful signs since recruitment is up, both lateral hires (from other departments) and new Police Academy recruits. And the police are now making full use of technology including security cameras and drones to investigate crime.

He also cautioned against online and confidence scams. He urged people when gardening in their yards to close their garages and gates, as one criminal will engage a victim in conversation while another will ransack their home.

A big thank you to Captain Harmston for answering our questions, to Stop Crime SF for co-hosting, and to everyone who attended, participated, and helped make this an informed and engaged discussion.