Recent Japantown Crimes Have Residents Asking for Help
By May Chow
AsianWeek Writer
A rash of recent crimes — including rape, burglary, auto theft and vandalism — at the Nihonmachi Parking Lot in San Francisco’s Japantown has residents concerned and afraid to emerge from their homes after dark.
In response to this fear, the Japantown Task Force has asked the San Francisco Police Department to increase officer presence and encourage resident involvement in making their neighborhood a safe one in which to live.
At a meeting last week held at the Japantown Task Force office, SFPD Chief Earl Sanders, Capt. Kevin Cashman, commanding officer of the Northern Police Station, and an investigating officer who was looking into the recent murder of Tony Chan, addressed community safety concerns.
“The main concern of the residents was safety, specifically because of the recent homicide,” said Cashman. “But we had an investigating officer there to answer questions and to provide as much information as possible.”
Cashman added that because the case had not been solved, specifics of the investigation could not be released. Homicide investigations are usually kept secret since any leads that leak out could jeopardize the case.
Chan, 29, a security guard at the popular Japantown nightclub and karaoke bar Sonic Lounge, was found shot to death in his car on Oct. 6 at around 2:30 a.m. Sonic Lounge is in the Nihonmachi Parking Corp. lot, behind the former Japantown Bowl. So far, there are no suspects and no known motive in the shooting.
On Feb. 23, 2001, Ken Haramoto, 21, was shot outside of the Denny’s Restaurant in front of Buchanan Mall, after he intervened in an argument between two females. Twenty-one-year-old Vincent Tu was arrested and charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of assault with a semiautomatic weapon, on July 12, 2001.
Linda Jofuku, Japantown Task Force’s executive director, said the peak hours for criminal activity in the Buchanan Mall area occur between the hours of 1 and 3 a.m., especially during the weekend.
“Many residents also complain about the noise and disturbance that occur between 1 and 3 a.m.,” Jofuku said. “A lot of vandalism happens too, like trees being uprooted in the planter boxes in Buchanan Mall.”
Jofuku said that after hearing from residents, the task force is requesting more police cruisers during the early morning hours on Fridays and weekends, and more lights in the area.
“There was a witness on Oct. 6 who said they saw a person at the scene of Tony Chan’s homicide,” she said. “But the only description they could give was that he was a man with dark hair. So more lighting in Japantown definitely needs to be addressed.”
Jofuku said the main goals of the task force are more streetlights, an increased patrol presence in the evenings, making the area as safe and visible as possible and educating the community to report any crimes they know of.
Jofuku said Cashman, who replaced now Assistant Police Chief Anthony Fagan as commanding officer of the local police station, has been very responsive in addressing the safety concerns of Japantown.
“He’s been really cooperative and wonderful at communicating with us and making sure that the Japantown residents feel comfortable with the police,” Jofuku said.
Cashman said there are officers on the Japantown beat who are bilingual. He has also increased foot patrols between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Thursday through Saturday nights.
“We’re also encouraging residents to report any or all crime, and we’ll even risk inflated crime reports,” Cashman said. “Many here don’t feel connected with the police and it’s been culturally and historically a problem.”
The majority of people who live in Japantown are Asian Pacific American. According to the 2000 Census, there are 3,543 APAs living in Japantown, of whom 31 percent are Chinese, 30 percent are Japanese and 21 percent are Korean. Filipinos make up 7 percent, Southeast Asians 6 percent, South Asians 4 percent and Pacific Islanders make up a little more than 1 percent.
But Jofuku added that many of these residents are elderly APAs who are first or second generation Americans, and who do not usually report crimes, mainly because of language barriers.
“They’re not likely to run out and report a crime, instead they’ll isolate themselves and not come out,” she said. “They won’t call the task force or the police station about criminal activity,” Jofuku said. “But if we’re out there and talking to them and holding these monthly meetings, then they’ll speak out.”
Jofuku said Japantown has not received a lot of attention from the police because it is largely a quiet community. She said that most of the crime has been brought in by people living outside of the Japantown area.
“We’re quiet folks and we’ve been scared, but we need to be louder and let people know that we have safety concerns too,” Jofuku said.
Cashman said his office has put out phone numbers which residents can call anonymously about their concerns or to report any crime. He said they also offer a victim and witness protection program.
“We want to make people feel safe and comfortable,” he said.
Reach May Chow at mchow@asianweek.com.
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