Update 10/11/17: Recreation and Park Department spokesperson Connie Chan said the camera installation is already underway. The first series of cameras will be installed in the next two weeks, she said, and the cameras are being funded by $250,000 from the city’s General Fund. Rec and Parks is working closely with the police department on the planning and positioning of the camera installation.
Dolores Park will soon have security cameras — likely within the next month, according to park advocacy group Dolores Park Works.
It’s the latest in an ongoing effort to make the park safer.
Since a shooting there injured three people on Aug. 3, city officials have been cranking up security in the park, as two San Francisco Police Officers now patrol the premises until it closes. Two park rangers also maintain a full-time presence.
At a community meeting following the shooting, Parks and Rec General Manager Phil Ginsburg said the park has seen a reduction in theft, graffiti and gang activity since the daily police presence began. Mission Station Captain Bill Griffin has said he’s received “fan mail” for putting officers in the park.
At a meeting with the Mission Dolores Neighborhood Association, Supervisor Jeff Sheehy and Gary McCoy of San Francisco Recreation and Park discussed plans to install lights, cameras and signs on the bridge where the shooting occurred.
Still, keeping Dolores completely crime-free remains a challenge. Just last week, a teenager was robbed by a group of 12 people sometime in the afternoon — hours officers patrol the park.