Brenda Meets the Tenderloin

Oct. 28, 2009

Yesterday was my first time walking through the Tenderloin. The Tenderloin Elementary School stood on Turk Street only a few businesses away from a childcare center.

Hispanic mothers and their children shared the sidewalks with men and women who yelled hysterically and flipped each other out. According to data, the Tenderloin has the largest population of children and by 2008, it counted with more than sixty liquor stores.

Neither the women’s nor the children’s eyes expressed fear. Their familiarity to the environment made me angry and sad. I could see my mother through the woman who crossed the street with a baby in a stroller. I could see my 5-year-old self through the little girl who held on tightly to her mother’s arm and wore a pink dress with a jean jacket.

On my way to the Tenderloin Police Station, I met Police Officer Yee who was parked on Market Street. I waved at him and he rolled his window down. He asked if I had a question or if I needed help.

“Hello, my name is Brenda Reyes and I’m a student at San Francisco State. I have a few questions regarding crime in the neighborhood,” I told him.

“Oh,” he said. “I can’t help you at the moment because I’m patrolling the buses, you know, making sure people don’t cause disturbances.” So he directed me to my original destination. “Be careful,” he cautioned. ”The station is not located in the best of areas.”

I smiled and thanked him, trying to hide the fear he had engrained in my mind. I took Leavenworth Street and turned right on Eddy Street. Three officers held riffles in their hands as they walked in and out of the station.

I walked in to the station intimidated. I walked out frustrated. All I could get was a phone number. With one bar left in my phone I decided to go home.

At the Civic Center Muni Station I spoke with officer P. Ruetti who’s been a San Francisco police officer for two years and part of the “Market Street Foot Beat” for the last two months.

Ruetti told me about thefts, which are common to businesses in the Civic Center, and narcotics, which constitutes a daily battle in both the United Nations and Civic Center Plazas.

Ruetti said the District Attorney won’t prosecute petty crimes because “It’s a waste of time and money to prosecute people who steal from $1 stores.”

A theft in items worth $400 and more is a felony, whereas one under $400 is a misdemeanor, I learned. According to Ruetti, the District Attorney doesn’t care about most marijuana cases when there are bigger crimes involving narcotics.

I arrived home on an empty stomach, with a dead cell-phone, and without a case number.

I still didn’t know what my crime story was going to be. But, I had a potential topic for the final assignment:

The Civic Center Park, children, drugs, and City Hall.

Hmmm…