I am definitely beginning to feel that Palo Alto is not a safe place. I was driving along Middlefield at about that time, there were loads of cars and loads of people about. Nothing at all looked suspicious to me.

What can we do about this - and I don't mean curtail our lives?

These robberies are becoming too frequent and too brazen to be passed of as an anomaly anymore. At this rate it won't be long before someone gets seriously hurt or even worse.

The police need to be more aggressive and use decoys to catch these criminals red-handed.

I think this proves that our community is no different than any other and that we have our fair share of crime. The police department doesn't have enough officers to work these types of incidents. My understanding is that they had to disband their special enforcement team so they could fill regular beat cop positions. Plain and simple: they need more bodies. With all the new housing near Stanford Shopping Center, near the Elks lodge, and off of Meadow by Fabian one wonders if any new police officer positions were created. Let’s stop worrying about the minutia and insure public safety!

I would have to agree. Honestly I feel safer in Mountain View than I do in Palo Alto. I think with Palo Alto being closer to other high crime areas, and with the affluence of Palo Alto, this may be a target for criminals from out of town. I also think Palo Alto has plenty of its own criminals who are residents here so we get double banged with crime. How in the world are the PA cops supposed to stop robberies, make people slow down on the city streets, and investigate everything else the residents expect them to do if they don’t have enough officers on the street. How may do they have anyway?

Samuel,

I’m not sure exactly how many they have but in reading other posts in the past, others have talked to officers who have said that on some nights they have only a handful of officers on. I also heard they got rid of a special team of officers. I forget what it was called but it was designed to target these types of crime waves. But I think the proof is in the pudding. There is a lot of crime, some posters say this is normal for cities and nothing to get excited over. I think it is just as normal to request they get more cops, investigators, and special teams.

More police will not do any good now they have been neutered by the racial shakedown artist and PC activists.

We have a lame duck chief of police who is out for the count and the mayor of thug ridden EPA giving us our orders.

Those who can afford it will move to gated communities, Stanford is looking into ways to have a closed campus ASAP.

The rest of us vulnerable even in daylight on Middlefield Road

this is crazy

I think the real surprise is that there have not been more than the ones we've experienced todate. I expect it will get worse, much worse, as the economic recession becomes more pronounced in this area.

I agree that, consistent with Maslow theory, we increase expenditures to focus more on basic community needs (e.g. safety) even if it means diverting resources away from what makes Palo Alto a super-special place to live. After all, you can't really enjoy many of the perks the City has to offer if you're maimed or worse.

This was done in broad daylight so there's either a real desire on the part of the assailant to get caught, or some real desperation is beginning to take hold.

I agree with TJ. Get rid of lame duck Lynne Johnson and let Deputy Chief Dennis Burns take over assuming he plans on "kicking some butt" figuratively speaking and catching robbers. If he plans on carrying on Lynne’s ultra-PC plans of lets love everybody and bend over backwards for the media then he can go too. What we need is strong leadership and a leader that can publicly speak without embarrassing her officers and our community would be even better.

Wow,

I doubt the assailant wants to get caught. He probably heard they weren't very many cops on the street and that the cops we do have probably wont try to stop and talk to him because they don't want to get harassed by the media and possibly sued now that the Chief has made their job even harder.

How dare they reveal his ethnic appearance!

Resident,

And how do you think the criminals know that PA is having these racial profiling issues? You think they are actually reading or watching the news? If they knew what Lynn said, they would be more likely to stay away than get harassed, one would think.

Okay people, let's take this seriously:

First: If you see a crime in progress on city streets, dial 911 from a land line. That will connect you to PAPD right away, and give them your address. Otherwise, program the dispatcher's direct line (above) into your cell phone now. It will be faster than calling 911 from your cell. Carry your cell in a pocket, where it's harder to steal.

Second: If you can do so safely, follow the suspect and report his location to PAPD.

Third: Consider getting pepper spray or a whistle to carry on your person, not in a purse or backpack. The best sprays contain an orange or UV dye in them. (It pretty much ends the racial profiling argument if the description of the attacker goes "last seen with bright orange skin and clothing, crying like a baby...")

Fourth: Leave excess cash at home and hide photocopies of your credit cards in your car, home and office. Be ready to shut your credit cards down immediately, before the crooks can even use them to buy gas. The less they benefit from a crime, the better.

We don't need to be paranoid vigilantes, we just need to be prepared and organized enough that it doesn't pay to do the crime. If the bad guys figure out they have a good chance of getting caught and they're not going to get more than $40 out of it, they'll give up and go somewhere else.

These are the messages our Police Chief should be getting into the local media. They serve to educate our citizens and as a deterrent to the bad guys.

How about giving our latest victim a very public award for chasing her attacker and getting a detailed description? Seems like another good deterent to me.

Go get the bad guys! (racial profiling not required...)

Ralph,
I agree with your suggesitons but in order for their to be someone ot repsond to the 911 call or try to catch the bad guy, there needs to be availabale cops. I htink we might need more of them and some special units or undercovers cops that can do this 24/7.

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Ladies, listen up. If you go into a supermarket or any store that has a shopping basket, e.g. Safeway, Target, put your purse in the child seat THEN use the baby straps and strap in your purse securely. That's saved my purse twice. Leave that strap tightly woven around your purse handle until you have your groceries safely in your car - in the trunk or inside the car. Consider a purse with a zipper, not a snap-type flap. Put your purse IN the car and lock it if you have to walk the basket back any distance. Now if you have a child to put in the basket, consider using a fanny pack instead of a purse or buy another strap. Actually, a fanny pack is a good idea now, and some are made with a steel cable through the strap. Magellan catalog sells these. These fanny packs are widely used for overseas travel where there is aggressive pick pocketing and is suggested in any place where it is a known problem. Never ever leave your purse with no protection in the basket if you are juggling to get child and groceries or other products into your car. And be careful shopping at night. Cell phone coverage in Palo Alto is spotty - especially with ATT. Keep your cell phone on at all times and program in or memorize the PAPD dispatch number.

Another suggestion. Don't presume your merchandise is safe in your car trunk especially in this holiday season. Thieves are known to watch for shoppers putting items in the trunk and who then leave to do more shopping. Thieves can open and clean out that trunk in three minutes.

And last, keep a pad of paper and a pencil or pen handy in your car in case you have to write down a license plate number or any other description. See a van or truck in your neighborhood with no logo - or one that is unfamiliar? Write down the license number just in case something is not right.

The man was described as light-skinned African American or Hispanic, in his 20s

Should a cop get in trouble for questioning an African American male who matches this description?

NO

When the suspect is White, White men who match the description should be stopped and questioned. When the suspect is Black, Black men who match the description should be stopped and questioned. It's as simple as that.

What good are excellent schools and new libraries if you can't walk down the street safely? Let's double the number of officers out there!
Let's show our support for the police officers and justice on Sunday!

Agree with Resident. We are paying through the nostrils to live in this city while the crime decays our quality of life!

To Sergey Brin:

Can you or Google please do something to save our city by Christmas this year?

Thank you, Virginia

I will NOT call the police if I witness a crime. I will NOT assist anyone if they are in trouble. I will turn my back same as the City Council, the Mayor and the City Manager have done to our Police Chief and in effect, to us. They are in effect enabling these outsiders to come in and dictate how our City should be run.

Let this City go to the thugs. It has had a big head start. When they start attacking the bleeding heart liberals on here and in the City whom have effectively handcuffed our Police Department, you will suddenly hear a whole different line of propaganda. Did you read the victim description of the woman from todays mugging? Petite...woman. She could have been injured or killed.

Do you know what would ensue if that happened? The very same holier-than-thou 'See you at the March NEIGHBOR' people will be screaming at the top of their lungs.

They will complain that the Police Dept doesn't do enough to protect Palo Altans. DON'T YOU ALL SEE? Haven't you all kept up with the general thread of the comments from EPA and 'outside' the area. Sorry people, due to State laws about all children getting some kind of education; most thugs DO read, or their friends do. Everyone knows that Palo Alto right now, is ripe for the pickins....

So go ahead Palo Alto, allow that Dr. Knox and that EPA Mayor have their racist little march into Palo Alto on Saturday...watch what happens.

I am going to find a lawyer to consult. If ANYTHING happens to me, anyone I care about or my personal property, I will institute a lawsuit against the Mayor of EPA, Dr. Knox, and the people who run THIS City for failing to nip this stupidity in the bud. Maybe a lovely class action.

Sergey Brin is too busy helping Mountain View. That's probably why people feel more safe there.

all of your great ideas about doubling the amount of cops are great. too bad they aren't expense free...

part of the reason for the recent rise in robberies is the fact that the economy is in turmoil. as people lose jobs, and the economy spirals downwards, the crime rate will go up. the economy and crime rates are inversely related.

therefore, the streets will once again be safe if you can just hold it out until january 20th. that is the day when obama will be inaugurated. once he is, all the worlds problems will instantly be fixed, and life will instantly be great.

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[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

If police are paid out of property taxes, won't the staff need to be halved soon as values drop? Not a virtuous cycle. I'd rather have cameras.

Who IS this Leland Francois and what exactly is he promoting?

You know what makes me laugh? All of the 'enlightened' people on here such as The Chronicles of Ms. Narnia. All of these supposed 'white' people crying shame and screeching like howler monkeys about 'lumping in all African Americans'.

Did anyone EVER say ALL African americans? No. Just those whom fit a certain suspect descriptor.

Seems to me the people screaming the loudest are the racists. They are jumping en masse to protect a perceived unfairness to a 'race' while overlooking the biggest race of all; the HUMAN race.

People are being terrorized and hurt. PEOPLE. Victims of all sorts of race and cultures. If you want to get to specific races, remember that black on black crime is among one of the worst statistics in the country.

So next time that you, like the rabble rouser Mayor of EPA want to feel holier-than-thou; remember the toll this is taking on PEOPLE. ALL PEOPLE.

It's not a race issue. It's a criminal issue.

high resoultion cameras at all the entrances/exits into PA to monitor vehicle traffic should be in place. then the video can be used only if a crime had been committed to find a car.

When I first read this report I was struck by two things after being thankful that the victim was okay:

1) The brazenness of the robbery - broad daylight on a main arterial road in Palo Alto

2) The sense of desperation - again broad daylight on a main road arterial in Palo Alto

I agree we do have a problem and I belive we all need to participate and do our part to help turn the tide - PAPD, City Council, Community Groups, etc...

Why is Loma Verde crime central these days? Is it because the criminals have a quick getaway via East Bayshore or Oregon Xwy? Maybe that new sound barrier wall at the end of taht street has something to do with it? They are building all those houses there too. Seems like property rates for those might drop if word gets out that the neigborhood is not safe.

I still think this sounds like gang initiations. Broad daylight, busy street, sounds like someone wants to give a show of bravado, rather than desperation. Someone with gold caps on their teeth, doesn't sound like someone impoverished trying to feed his family, sounds more like someone with so much time on his hands that he has plenty of time and needs more money to get more teeth gold capped.

I don't think this is a sign of a bad economy. I do think this is the sign that the gangs are getting more and more confident with how easy it is to get away with street mugging in Palo Alto.

I think the notion that this is related to the declining economy and tough personal times is nonsense. It's like grabbing a gold chain off someone's neck, nothing to do with getting a good square meal. This is straight criminal activity and brash at that. Does sound like a gang thing.

I called the police non-emerg. # two sundays ago when I notice two teenagers not from the neighborhood loitering around the neighborhood on their bikes and then sat/laid down on the sidewalk.

The response was if they are not doing anything suspicious the police won't be dispatched to take a look. I had to explain why I even called... that there is nothing wrong with two teenagers not from my neighborhood laying down on the sidewalk.

OK, so when is it suspicious? After they enter the house and start to carry items out? Oh may be they're friends of the owner. May be I should wait until the owner comes home and screams, "I've been robbed!!"

I just felt that the police dispatcher does not give much thought or have been briefed on the current situation in town. Or just don't care. And that, means the department is not managed properly.

Alan

We need more police officers on the street!

Have you ever noticed a group of 3 or 4 kids coking into your neighborhood on one or two bicycles? They have those footpegs installed on the wheels allowing two or three kids to ride the same bicycle? Ever notice them leaving again with an increased number of bicycles? Hmmm, guess what they were doing,.....

Keep the PAPD number handy on your cell phone and USE IT!

Get a video surveylance system installed on your house, they are not that expensive or difficult to install or use. Set up the cameras to watch your house, the paths in front of your house, and try to have neighbors houses in the background. Much can be told from reviewing the footage collected from these systems, maybe not enough to convict, but at LEAST solid clues to catch them with.

They might even pick up ethnicity, I don't think cameras can be set to filter that out.

I start to worry about the kids safety now!

The kids bike to PA schools everyday(go under the Caltrain tunnel and cross the busy street)

Let's show our support for the POLICE OFFICERS!
Double the numbers of police officers on the street!!

You all should listen to PAPD dispatch sometime. It's quite revealing. PAPD is very busy. You can pick up a basic, handheld police scanner for a hundred bucks at Radio Shack. 482.6125 Mhz and 482.8125 Mhz for PAPD and 153.770 Mhz and 154.055 Mhz for PAFD. There's a lot going on all the time. Car accidents, heart attacks, missing children, injuries of all sorts, missing old folks, etc. Many of you make it sound like PAPD officers are sitting at the donut shop all day.

I meant to add that you should also check out Web Link
There is a lot going on in the city. It's particularly fun to look at the 300 block of Portage Avenue once a week or so. Usually there are multiple events listed -- there almost always listed as 'SHOPLIFT IN CUSTODY' -- that's Fry's Electronics.

"The man was described as light-skinned African American or Hispanic, in his 20s, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds. He was wearing a baggy black jacket with a gold design, dark jeans and a hat with a short brim. He also had distinctive gold coverings on several front teeth, Ryan said."

When you read descriptions like these, first thing that comes to mind is you try to imagine what a person like this looks like and how many of them you see in Palo Alto. Your mind also processes the information that 9 out of 10 crimes committed have the perpetrators matching that sort of description with race being the one commonality. You think about how you can avoid becoming a victim. You start thinking that maybe you should carry a gun for protection... but the peace-loving person that you are, you can't bring yourself to do something like that. You realize your only defense as a civilian who refuses to carry any arms for protection is to be leery and avoid people matching this description when you are walking alone. Next time you are walking alone and a person of black or hispanic origin wearing baggy pants comes your way, you refuse to make eye-contact and possibly even cross over to the other street. Congratulations my friend... in your effort to try to avoid becoming a victim, YOU ARE NOW GUILTY OF RACIAL PROFILING. SHAME ON YOU.

Indeed, there is nothing wrong with two teenagers not from my neighborhood laying down on the sidewalk. Why is that suspicious? Should we imprison them at birth so that latter on they cannot come to our neighborhood and have the same right as others to bike
riding around? Is your neighborhood closed to all but who are certified to live there?
It sounds too me that you called the police because the teenagers are not the "right kind" for you. Shame on you! As the proof is in the pudding they didn't do anything wrong did they?
Did you expect the police to curtail their right to be wherever is legal to be in this country?
Your call to squash the law of the land with a phone call remained unanswered thankfully.

This would be a better forum if instead of concentrating on the "wrong kind of people" being in Palo Alto it would discuss strategies to avoid petty crime ( that's what seems to be occurring more than anything else). I walk all the time on Middlefield rd in South PA and Midtown a very suburban area notoriously difficult to patrol and because of that I keep very alert at all times and cross the rd frequently. There are no crime free paradises. It seems to me that the police leadership could direct for better strategies than " round up all black males that you can see". I do not see that many white males stopped when the crime suspect is reported to be white. Indeed, the problem here seems to be the notion that every young black male is a suspect. That is not only morally wrong. It is singularly ineffective both socially and crime wise.

Wow says: "either a real desire on the part of the assailant to get caught" - wrong, or "some real desperation is beginning to take hold." - here, you are absolutely right on.

I have read these blogs but no one has come up with the real reason for the enormous increase in muggings and burglaries in PA. The reason is the huge increase in Methamphetamine addiction. This addictive habit needs constantly feeding and paying for, and addicts will do anything to get a fix, even knock down LOLs and grab their purse.

Meth labs are everywhere, so don't think just because you live in Palo Alto related crime doesn't happen. Then I read how residents go out and leave a sliding glass door unlocked, an invitation for a burglary - how stupid can you get. Wake up Palo Alto, meth addiction has created a whole knew pervasive crime wave and it will only get worse.

Let's defer this to the brilliant minds at the weekly.
their resolution is to remove the chief!

how about we get off the Chief's back and let her do her job.
wake up folks, clearly the public hanging of the chief is not deterring these thugs.

Time to throw our support behind the PAPD and it's chief and put an end to this outbreak of crime.

"Indeed, there is nothing wrong with two teenagers not from my neighborhood laying down on the sidewalk. Why is that suspicious?"

While some people keeps crying racial profiling and the police might not bother to come, I would still keep my eyes on these teenagers not from the neighborhood.

I missed catching two thieves of this kind because I hesitated - I watched them from my window suspeciously from across the street without immediately calling the police. Only after they started to fleet noticing that I was watching them then I called my neighbor and it was too late because bike and things had been stolen.

I'll urge everybody to keep your eyes open and still call the police if you suspect anything. Call me racial profiling or anything you want.

We should not do racial profiling we should be doing criminal profiling.

This how you do it while being fair.

Thugs from out of town do not walk into Palo Alto,they do not take the bus or the train, they drive CARS.

Typically the cars these thugs have will have expired tags, broken tail lights or some other equipment violation, and they may often commit moving violation, even if quite minor.

At a traffic stop the PAPD can ask for ID and insurance, they can run the ID through the criminal justice records. If anything comes up they move to the next step.

If nothing comes up they write a ticket.

If during the stop and interaction with the driver they believe they have probable cause then they can search the car, ask for the ID of other occupants and question them.

I believe that very strict enforcement of the traffic and DMV code will solve this crime wave without race being an issue.

It will mean everyone driving in Palo Alto will have to comply very carefully with the DMV and traffic code, an inconvenience maybe, but better than fear on the streets and in our homes.

If the PAPD does this then I believe the problem will be solved and word will get around fast, thugs will stop coming here.

Concerned Resident/Alan:

I did the same thing and was told the same thing. I was driving on Hamilton amongst the huge houses and saw Hispanic youths walking. "They don't look like they live in the neighborood" I told the dispatcher and he said that wasn't enough to send out a police car. I too, thought, "Do they have to be running with a game system in hand to be considered suspicious?"

They should at least send out a patrol car to drive by so the youths know that they have been sited and will think again about commiting a crime if that's their intention.

We have demonstrated that we are defenseless. We will continue to be victimized until we defend ourselves. Let's hope the public servants figure out how to defend us before the public finds it necessary to engage in self-help.

Does anyone know what the California rules on concealed carry are? I am now interested in the subject.

Criminal profiling is effective . Racial profiling is neither effective, nor lawful. People who do not bat an eye when the criminal happens to come from their neighborhood and indeed would consider it unneighborly to report a youthful crime are quite ready to attribute bad intentions to youthful pursuits when those engaging in them are the "wrong kind". The same action would merit a clean record to "the right kind" and a criminal record to "the wrong kind". Is that how they intend want to build a better and more just world or do they prefer the fountains to be separated by race?
Credibility comes from knowing that we ALL will be judged by our deeds, not defamation of particular people who walking around cannot avoid being black.

In terms of the police stopping people based on them being suspects....whether it's done by profiling, roll of the dice, or not..

In terms of stopping mugging I fail to see what good stopping anyone BEFORE the crime would do. The "to be" mugger would always come up with a valid reason for being in the neighborhood ("I am a bird watcher and heard that this area has lot of Picus viridicus"..."OK then where are your binoculaurs?!"..)

After the crime was committed and reported, and with whatever description, then unless the mugger is apprehended with traceable property and/or can be positively identified I fail to see how stopping suspicious person(s) would be of benefit. All they have to do is make a moderate effort to conceal their identity and just keep the cash.

What I would suggest is that instead the police COVERTLY take pictures of everyone/anyone they feel in the least bit suspicious about. Then, if there is a mugging in that area later, it can be used for review, perhaps with positive ID.

Put yourself in the muggers place. You want to be in an area that is not just a housing area, where some local business or activity (train station) means that pedestrian traffic is the norm. You'd know the area. Then you'd wait for a favorable constellation to occur. When I lived in Oakland near Lake Merritt that was what I called "A Mugger's Paradise". Joggers, lots of apartments, shops, etc. No on noticed or cared. A couple of muggers would hog a phone booth and act like they were having a prolonged conversation. In actuality they would wait for their mark.

An ambush strategy in return is what's needed.

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Lets turn the tables and change this march to a TAKING OUR STREETS BACK FROM THE THUGS March.

you should know,that even non hispanic immigrants are eligible AND recieve financial aid over african americans ewho are severely ''disabled'''.remeber this,many from other countries look down on african americans who have toiled and died and STILL have never assaulted ANYONE.unril there is freedom for afrtican americans and equal access to socvial benefits that immigrants are eligible for.come on,12 per cent of the population and no consideration for social services,even par with euro and asian immigrants.those kindf of things contibute to the social outrage .conside african americans FIRST,for social benefits and ''rightys''.brfore immigrants.

Um, HELLO...the Police Chief TRIED to do her job to alert her team to be on the lookout for this type of thing and she was crucified for it. These thugs KNOW this and feel MORE entitlement now. I live less than a block from where this occured. [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

They need more police officer, AND to concentrate on Palo Alto. About a year ago I witnessed a confrontation where the police was called. The police came, and pretty much said to the two people to solve their own problem without the police because the police didn't have enough officers and they were being called like crazy for some robbery in East Palo Alto. I was bit dumbfounded; why can't EPA solve its own problems? Anyway, more officers and stay in Palo Alto.

There are a lot of comments here, I agree we don't need a new library we need more Police. And the PAPD should not help EPA, we should install camera and, call it want you want but profiling works.

then the cops should be concerned you got a weapon cause a black man was recognized.you azre the people we shpuld be concerned with,white supremacists .

you also used weapon and prez name in your statement.papd should be checking whites for weapons.

It is starting already, my family are leaving town by 280 on Sunday and we will leave the dogs one in the house the other in the garden, they are big and will bite.

We will turn on the alarms and camera too.

Time for everyone to buy a gun (before the Democrats outlaw them), and learn how to use them.

H,
so far the only people who I see advocating violence and guns are your kind- white palo altans. have decency.

Fellow P'Altans: Sometimes Sh*t happens. You can not prevent everything that is not wonderful. Random acts of mugging and occasional desperation will occur anywhere. That someone was mugged on Middlefield near Loma Verde does not mean the odds go up that at 2:30pm everyday someone will become a potential victim again in the same place. We tend to take one instance and make it all the thing all the time. This is a safe neighborhood. That does not mean there is never crime it means we have beaten the odds so far. It does mean that in order to feel safe you must awaken your gut instincts. If you are walking down a street "...la, la, la..."and a guy on a bike or on foot is coming straight at you, duck! You have the right to react to get away and not be sexist or racist no matter who it is. Common sense is that if you perceive an immediate physical threat you most likely are right. Anyone not out to harm you would be aware that it is not normal to not deter from an oncoming object. We shut off these instincts too much.

All in all we have a good town. We need to insist on what we know is out of place no matter what or who. Take all color out of criminals and maybe what we are left with is a class issue: Desperate and not desperate. When we are too proactive, we become the criminals by taking away civil liberties. If it feels like a creep, looks like a creep and acts like a creep it could be a creep.

Where can one get proper gun instruction? I mean high quality instruction limited to personal safety only. And where can you take a gun? Can you go into a store with one so that you can have it handy when returning to your car? I greatly fear an armed society, but I also fear theft and assault; and for all we know, kidnapping is next. It does seem wrong that only the criminals have weapons.

It really doesn't matter what the motive for these crimes is or who is doing it. These guys need to be removed from society. Obviously, the police should do it. But it seems we are not prepared to devote the resources necessary to fund appropriate police protection. So what next? People will not stand for this.

When I read some of these comments here I feel like a Greek Tragedy/Comedy is going off in my head.

It's tragic that so many people are so obviously so racist and all. It must pain you to live in what you consider a liberal community. So every time something happens you go on about "all you liberals deserve the fact that 10,000 big black males will be riding into Palo Alto on rabid mountain lions and ravaging your community". As if outright racism against African Americans and carpet bombing cougar habitat would solve the problem ("They're coming right at us"--Southpark comedy).

Some are even acting like that now Obama is elected we've turned over the country to the muggers. So I crack up and cringe at the same time.

You people should go live in an area where everyone feels the same way. Load up your house with weapons, put a ton of vicious dogs in your yard, a piranha filled moat, etc. Meanwhile, as you blather on about the crime ridden Palo Alto area you left the house next door will explode as it was a meth lab, your kid will be molested by the guy next door who should have been cast in a Deliverance movie.

So many people live in areas that are filled with real and unrelenting crime. I have lived in those areas in the past and know full well. While there is a problem it pales to what the majority of citizens have to wake up every day and face.

If this is all it takes to unleash the above torrent of obvious racism what would happen if a real serious crime wave were to occur.

[Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

To "run 4 it" -- the problem is, you do not have time to run. You will see them approach, and you will know what is going to happen, but you are not going to be able to prevent the crime. The cops will tell you you should be immensely grateful that whatever happened was not worse. These episodes are not isolated. They must be stopped before it gets even worse. How will you feel when it is your parent, your kid, or yourself? Your grandmother should have run faster? Maybe the police should start a running club?

Dear A Noun...

But the sky IS falling! ...and it's very warm!

I think we should all move to Atherton. You want REAL crime?..., leaf blowers and overzealous carpenters daring to actually work on a Saturday! It's an outrage.

Hey! All of you who keep calling others racist! You lecture others on being ignorant, yet you are the first to cast stones. To name call. Your terms are pejorative. You denigrate others to feel superior.

So, do you feel good now? Do you look in the mirror with self satisfaction and congratulate yourself on how enlightened you are? How wonderful you are? Wow, such lofty ideals, how can mere mortals ever aspire to your heights?

You care so much about your lofty views, yet you are missing the point entirely.

You are leaving out the most important element in this whole thing. The HUMAN element. PEOPLE ARE GETTING HURT. PEOPLE. Do you people ever give a single thought to the VICTIMS? Do you even care? These thugs are attacking people of all races and cultures. These thugs are VICTIMIZING these people. Apparently you don't care about PEOPLE. You only care about 'races' and from what I have read on here, only ONE race. YOU are the racists. YOU insult whites publicly. If people wrote about other races what you have written about whites, there would be a huge public outcry.

You only care about what you perceive to be political correctness. You should be ashamed.

Statements like 'I should invest in a sheet company' and 'Wow, I live among racists' are just as bad as anyone elses comments of which you have castigated.

You people calling others racist are the very reason these crimes are becoming a daily event. What race card? It's now called 'racial entitlement'. These thugs are moving through Palo Alto with impunity because of racists like YOU! They know because this is a hot button issue, the cops hands are tied.

Why is it so many intelligent people lack common sense?

I do care about the victims and hope the assailants are caught.

That is patently ridiculous that the reason these crimes are being created is because of me (or anyone) calling other people racist. What this implies is that actual racism is indeed needed to solve the problem. That is the unrelenting thread running through so many of these comments. One person even said something like "let's just give the blacks the keys to our homes, we've already given Obama the White House". The emotional tone bears such a similar one to the ones about the liberals deserving their children get munched by a mountain lion because we're to sensitive to go hunt them down in the hills. It's like another form of political predation.

I also don't really know the full facts about what Police Chief Johnson said, meant, etc. That can play out as it will. So what if the Police Chief is fired or resigns because of what she said? How would that prevent other police officers from effectively dealing with this problem? Only if people think that outright racism is the fix to the problem would that make sense. Real police work can go on. That is like saying that doctors can't treat patients because the Surgeon General got fired for some public statement.

But I can read the comments here. People seem to be on a hair trigger to embrace outright racism and idiotic profiling in response.

Let's look at the facts. People are being mugged. The assailants seem to be all males, a mix of African American, Hispanic, and white. The attacks are occurring in areas where foot traffic can be reasonably anticipated to occur.

So, let's assume that a police officer has a valid, but very general, profile of what one of the muggers looks like. Then suppose they see a person matching that description. What possible good could come from stopping that person and asking him any questions? If they are the mugger does one think they'll say, "gee ya got me officer, I was waiting for a victim to mug". At best all stopping that person would do is to probably prevent a mugging from occurring THAT night in THAT location by THAT person. Even if the real perp was stopped---they'll give their "reason" for being in the neighborhood. Then later they can just change their appearance, change the location, and commit another crime. If that person isn't the mugger then all it does is sow ill will. What good does stopping potential future muggers do?

You have to catch them in the act. Or get a valid description, picture, find evidence on them (right afterwards), or have them marked by some material planted in a purse, etc. We can all help to setup an ambush of sorts.

So what good is profiling and stopping suspected would-be muggers?

What it does do is create the impression that "something is being done". The citizenry can look and see police officers stopping young black males and feel safer. Maybe some of the frustrated police officers are unprofessional enough to also need that "morale" boost. Meanwhile some teenager who was going to his friends house gets stopped for the 15th time.

Meanwhile the mugger can just go back to their method--change location, find the formula where their prey is alone and the situation is just right. My guess is that the pick an area and either drive around or stake it out and wait for the person.

So all this crying out about how the police are kept from doing their job by cries of racism seem pathetically silly. If it were home burglaries in which large trucks were used, and a racial/gender/age/truck type description available-- then yes indeed a profile and stopping suspicious trucks would be warranted. One might find a recent haul and home burglary tools.


But with mugging it's a different animal.

People are asking about carrying concealed weapons! If you don't already know how to use a firearm why in the world would you even contemplate getting one now! You'd need to train, go to a range, etc. Plus what legal reason could you give that would trump anyone else ("I'm scared and don't want to move to Miami where everyone can carry their own private Uzi"?). Get a whistle. Or carry a fake exterior purse and load it with something to mark or locate in case it gets stolen, get a LOUD whistle, etc.

The mugger wants to identify a person who is an easy mark, alone, vulnerable. They want to work fast and get out quick.

That's not how it works. A police officer doesn't pull over or stop a person in hopes they confess. Or to make the local citizenry 'feel good'.

They don't stop random persons based on color or anything else. They stop people who may fit a suspect description, people who may have no apparent reason to be in a particular place. People who may be behaving in a suspicious manner.

Later, if more events happen and the details match a specific report or person, then they dig deeper.

Can you really not know this? Read some case studies of serial killers. You will find that many of them had been stopped and questioned and their names had been in police files all along. Helpful later if it all comes together for prosecution.

Ah, but interesting tidbit here. Criminal profiling shows the majority of serial killers are white males. When reports show that victims of these predators had prior contact with a white male of a certain age and description, police focus on stopping any and all white males in that location who may match that description.

Stopping certain white men. Anyone crying 'foul' now?

Doubt it.

Many factors are in play here. Our economy has tanked and is not forecast to improve for another year to two years. Meth is rampant in EPA, resulting in increased crime in our lovely town. We are short of police officers. A perfect storm..... Either move somewhere else, defend yourself and home, never go out or get used to the situation. Sounds grim but that is the reality.

and,they are apparently not ''short'' of officers who question a 20 year palo alto employee and run their name for warrants,cause theyre ''black''

There is probably a BIG difference between a lot of habitual police habits, as far as stopping "suspicious" people, etc., and actual effective police work.

Otherwise we wouldn't be having this racist hysteria, obvious stopping of people who are black males just because they are black males (who--if the police had more insight past racism ("he's black stop him") wouldn't have stopped), and the police chief comments.

OK everyone here is a mental exercise. Imagine that, suddenly, instead of Palo Alto being next to EPA now instead Antioch, CA is magically plunked down across San Francisquito Creek. Now imagine the same muggings had occurred-- but that all the assailants were white. Now look at what your own interior mental attitudes would be. Would you, every time you saw a white male walking past, get afraid? Would you say things like, "gee honey we need to move away from these other white people...is there some neighborhood where everyone else would be Asian?", or complaining about how now (imagine it's 2004) "oh geez and another white guy got elected--he's probably gonna make sure none of these white people ever go to jail."? Would the police be paralyzed in terms of knowing which suspect profile should guide them in stopping citizens? Or would they then "see past race" and be able to stop people based on real intuition and whatever "Blink" one acquires from police skill? Would our perception of the problem be down regulated if all the muggers descriptions were of white people?

Beyond that, EPA has always been a bit of a "Hole in the Wall". A place where the reduced infrastructure and deficient police staffing probably sends out a "hey come live here, it's a safer place to be a criminal". A few years back they had that task force. But it's probably like a game of Whack A Mole, and more so when the economy tanks.

A noun Ea Mus----

Your argument lacks credibility and validity.

57% of the inmates in Federal Prison are Black,
Blacks are 12% of the population, you do the math and work out the probabilities.

We should be be fair, not deaf, blind and dumb

Even Jesse Jackson says he fears Black men on the street at night

About that "tidbit"

"Ah, but interesting tidbit here. Criminal profiling shows the majority of serial killers are white males. When reports show that victims of these predators had prior contact with a white male of a certain age and description, police focus on stopping any and all white males in that location who may match that description.

Stopping certain white men. Anyone crying 'foul' now?

Doubt it."

This is funny--as well as tragic because it reveals your own sense of "whites are getting a raw deal". I have this image of a HUGE roundup where "any and all white males" are stopped. An stock brokerage firm is telling all it's white male employees things like "you better eat in the cafeteria today and not venture out because the roundup will keep you detained for hours--they have so many white males to interview".

It would be "certain" white men. Just as it should be "certain" black men (if one buys into the idea that such stopping people is an effective deterent and/or might ever lead to a conviction). Instead we have unrelenting and very credible narratives where any and all black males are indeed being stopped. Maybe when the march occurs the police can take advantage of that and detain every black male.

Meanwhile go find a copy of Ivory to read. It has a picture of The White Caucus in Congress. Strom Thurmond's "I Have a Scheme" speech, etc.

Someone who is focusing on the lopsided per centages of Blacks in prison vs. whites (mostly non-violent drug offenses-- which has created our own Gulag).....

will ask Ted Bundy to give them a ride home.

A noun Ea Mus


The rational solution to your problem is to have a Nation DNA data base with every one in it.
At birth, through the DMV easy to do and cheap.
I certainly have no problem with that.
Criminal usually leave DNA at the scene of a crime, rape, murders, assault etc.
Then you profile the DNA and pick up the suspect, scientific, fair and objective

You must agree, yes?

"my problem"? Is there a perception that I think one should totally eliminate race as ONE descriptor of a suspect?

This reminds me of the current political tendency whereby if a candidate advocates raising the capital gains tax he or she is portrayed as advocating that the Khmer Rouge come into your house and send you packing off to a collective....Biden being quoted Marx in that interview, etc.

Actually I don't know how I feel about a national DNA database. One the one hand it has obvious appeal. On the other it brings up images of Big Brother...and the leader's cloned nose from Woody Allen's Sleeper movie.

But to speak to the sentiment I detect..

If we can't be racist then let us be Orwellian!

Give me Jim Crow or give me 1984!

Meanwhile go over to the thread about the march. People who are afraid to go over Dumbarton via University are saying that whitey needs to march on EPA! Maybe some white cheerleaders could lead the crowd..."push 'em back, push 'em back".

Somehow, now that Obama is Prez, I can laugh more at racism now.

Grace, let me inform you a bit. let's us talk statistics. In iceland about 100% of those who are in jail are white. In mozambique about 100% of those who are in jail are black. And in Equador the inmates are mainly hispanics, that is either natives or a significant percentage native.
What this should tell you is that skin color or ancestry has nothing to do with criminality. Should you care to repeat ad tedium less than a parrot you would find that poverty is the main correlation to violent crime. The great majority of violent crimes in Palo Alto in the last few years were perpetrated by white palo altans. What does that tell you?

And Jesse Jackson is so afraid of other black people he wanted to have Obama castrated!

Time To Learn, you wrote:

"Where can one get proper gun instruction? I mean high quality instruction limited to personal safety only. And where can you take a gun? Can you go into a store with one so that you can have it handy when returning to your car? I greatly fear an armed society, but I also fear theft and assault; and for all we know, kidnapping is next. It does seem wrong that only the criminals have weapons."

You might try contacting Reed's Indoor Range, located in Santa Clara
Web Link

Be aware that it is extremely important to have a thorough understanding of state and local firearms laws. An instructor should be able to provide relevant information, and there are also books written on the subject.

Speaking of Iceland...

a few months back I worked with a black guy who lived in Iceland for about a year. His was engaged to an Icelandic woman. "I was the ONLY black guy there". It was a funny conversation.

But he also succinctly described how the massive racist pervasive cloud didn't exist there. It was like first working all the time in a room with constant generators humming. Then suddenly they are all quiet.

I just wonder how the Icelandic police can ever profile? "Police are looking for a white suspect in Reykjavik".

Many Blacks in prison are there for drug related crimes, but they are still ultra violent.

Illegal Drugs are big business, the distribution of drugs in done by Black and Hispanic gangs.

These are very violent gangs who are responsible for the mayhem in EPA. They shoot and kill people almost every day and there are only about 30,000 people in EPA, it is half the size of Palo Alto.

What do you suggest we do with murderous gangsters,send them to ACORN?

I do not have a solution, legalize drugs or do something that takes away the profit motive and you have solved the problem for the next generation.

That still leaves the current armies of gangs killing people on the streets.

Once those in Federal Prison get out they go back to gang activity on the streets, it is their career, Nasty, Brutish and Short as it is.

EPA is a magnet for gangsters, The city of EPA has been ineffective and those gangsters prey on Palo Altans, it is just economics at play, risk and return etc

A giant step forward would be to legalize drugs.

Sergei, why do you post such hatful things?

I cannot buy a gun in this country; why do you tell me I should? I do not want to be arrested, and I am thinking guns cause violence, and not, to prevent it!!

"Many Blacks in prison are there for drug related crimes, but they are still ultra violent."

Some no doubt are prone to violence, as are whites, hispanics, asians also in prison. Many no doubt more so after years in prison. I don't know what exactly "ultra violent" means. But coupled with "black" in the same paragraph it has a certain charm.

"Illegal Drugs are big business, the distribution of drugs in done by Black and Hispanic gangs."

Hey this is patently racist against white people! There are plenty of white people, just as one example Hells Angels and Mongols, whom are notorious for their industrious efforts in the drug trade. Equal play for equal work!

"These are very violent gangs who are responsible for the mayhem in EPA. They shoot and kill people almost every day and there are only about 30,000 people in EPA, it is half the size of Palo Alto."

Yes it is perhaps an irony of history and geography that Palo Alto, known nationwide as somewhat of an educated Malibu, sits next door to East Palo Alto. In Palo Alto the crime rate normally is enough to make the Police Officers look like a version of the old Maytag repairman. Meanwhile in EPA the utterly deficient police staffing, lack of infrastructure, makes it a magnet for any pro-active criminal. I recall years ago talking to a juvenile probation official who had a client in EPA. The kids mom was describing that she heard gunshots and called the EPA Police. They basically told her to call back if she saw a body or someone actually firing a weapon. Can you imagine if it was Palo Alto? EPA is approximately 1/3 white, 1/3 black, and I suspect the rest is a mix of Hispanic and Pacific Islanders. People who live in Clarmemont live as close to parts of improverished Oakland, people who live in Alamo aren't that far from Antioch, etc. When times get harder then there will be more crime (though I personally suspect these attacks may be gang initiation related?).

"What do you suggest we do with murderous gangsters,send them to ACORN?"

If murderous gangsters are caught and convicted then obviously they will be sent to prison, as they should be. Why would you suggest I would think otherwise. Interesting that you posit ACORN as some kind of perceived "get out of jail free" option I would condone.



.....
"Once those in Federal Prison get out they go back to gang activity on the streets, it is their career, Nasty, Brutish and Short as it is."

I may be wrong, but my impression is that more violent offenders are actually locked up in State Prisons. The Federal Prison system attracts a higher class of criminal than your super violent offenders. But no matter, I agree for many released prisoners it is a revolving door. But you seem to suggest that the people convicted of non violence related drug offenses should still be kept locked up anyway. The are "black" and "ultra violent" now aren't they. That's two strikes already from what I can read.

"EPA is a magnet for gangsters, The city of EPA has been ineffective and those gangsters prey on Palo Altans, it is just economics at play, risk and return etc"

Obviously you are probably right about the general "migration" patterns of criminal activity (though why not parts of other local impoverished areas?). And the fact that EPA is a magnet. But the solution isn't racial profiling. Race obviously should be one factor, if valid for the recently suspected crime.

But there are smart and credible ways to go about this. All this racist hysteria I read reminds me of going after Sadam because of 9/11. They are all Arabs heh--100% of the hijackers were Arabs and all Iraqi's are Arabs? That was stupid profiling and our country fell for it. We can do better. There are ways to reduce crime, catch the criminals, that don't involve racial profiling.

People are acting like the police now have their hands tied, as if they might see a black person mug someone and sit there paralyzed ("darn, if only they were white we could arrest them"). But it's a good strategy perahps to blame "the liberals" for the (so far)lack of any arrests in these muggings.

And they are lumping all the EPA (the black citizens there anyway) together with the criminals and the mayor. It is so patently obvious and insulting to the law abiding citizens of EPA (many of you no doubt think they don't exist).

march at university and middlefield. No issues. peaceful so far.

"H,

so far the only people who I see advocating violence and guns are your kind- white palo altans. have decency." - narnia

narnia

Love your racial profiling. I'm not white.

H, this is what you said:"Time for everyone to buy a gun (before the Democrats outlaw them), and learn how to use them."

That's advocating violence. I did not say you are "white". I said that that the only ones advocating violence are your kind (whatever race you are, they are your kind). The marchers were peaceful.

Look at what you wrote:

"your kind- white palo altans"

Give it up. You are doing your own racial profiling, yet you accuse others of doing so. You indeed are a complete hypocrite.