Central District Police Station

When the police department takes the time to deliver your lost wallet, you know there is kindness in the world! Thank you, Central Station and car 135, for taking care of our city!

We reported a «found» puppy that was wandering around our neighborhood last night. While we were there, the owners happened to show up. It was a heartwarming reunion for li’l Mango and his family. This reminded me of the last time I was down at this police station… when my own dog had gone missing (she ran out our front door… the little stinker!). The cops at this station are always nice and friendly and try to be as helpful as possible. They definitely are a part of this community — more than just officers upholding the law, but as people and friends who take time to get to know their community neighbors. Ironically, we also found our dog a couple days after she ran away on her little adventure… so we were also lucky to get our dog back. A lot of the officers were glad to see her as they saw her on her daily walks… and, of course, my dog loved flirting with all of them, too. :)

I had to file a police report so I came here … they were friendly and helpful. Nobody really wants have to go to the Police Department but I felt like I was treated well. I would recommend this Police Department if you have to go to Police Department … it’s probably a good choice

Called the police station today about noon and the phone rang and rang and rang. No one ever answered! This is terrible! If it’s not an emergency, and the police never answer the phone– what are citizens to do when they have an issue that needs police resolution? I have generally had good responses from this station but am disgusted that no one even answered the phone after 20 some odd rings!

My only experience here has been dealing with a correctable parking citation (V C 5204 — missing registration tabs), but it was simply wonderful.
First, called the station and the phone was picked up on the second ring. I then asked if they could help me out with a correctable parking citation. They asked which, I explained, and they said sure, no problem.
I drove over and (somehow) found parking about a block away. I went in and was told I should just pull up wherever I wanted in front of the station (white zones, station’s alley, etc. — -ALTHOUGH, I’d think it wise never to assume this is OK; i’d always ask either in person or on the phone just to be considerate. I walked back in and the woman at the desk saw me and immediately came out from behind the glass to look at my car’s plates (with tags, now) and sign off on the correction.
10 minutes and my $ 115 ticket was reduced to $ 10 and I was on my way. Infinitely better than spending 3 – 4 hours at the SFDMV getting sick, depressed, and worn out.

I have known Phil Welsh for over 50 years and I will miss my dear friend. He epitomizes the SFPD and the great City of San Francisco!

This review is for getting No Parking signs for a residential move. Philip Welsh currently handles them, and his voicemail message gives you thorough instructions about what information you need to have ready in order to request a No Parking sign. It also tells you how you can get in contact with him: phone, fax, email, and in person.
Based on my experience, I suggest that you forget about email, phone, or fax, and go down to the station in person with all the information you need and payment (check or money order). I left voicemails, tried emailing, and tried calling, and Welsh never responded to any of those. When I went to the station, though (calling ahead to make sure he’d actually be in there), it took all of ten minutes to find him, fill out the form, and write out a check to SFPD.
Actually, if you have to do anything involving No Parking signs and Central Police Station, I suggest you go there in person. There was a snafu with my signs, and the officer who answered the main line was unhelpful and Welsh didn’t respond to his voicemail. At the police station, though, the officer on duty took about five minutes to resolve the problem.

i have to agree with some of the less admiring Unilocalers here. the cops at this station were extremely unprofessional, intentionally discouraging and not at all interested in auto theft –in my experience.
the thieves must know this about sfpd.
it is a very sad situation that car theft is the second most common crime committed in san francisco and sfpd do not even pretend to have anyone investigate ANY of the thefts.
how many car thieves can there possibly be in the city with such a small population? the thieves left parking tickets behind (with multiple plate numbers) and a parking garage stub (video surveillance). it would take an hour to run the plates and watch the video, but nobody can be bothered. there is one decent guy there (officer stephens), but everyone else just couldn’t be bothered (phone and in person attempts.
i have a call into the lieutenant, so maybe things will get a little better.
as citizens, i think we should be concerned that the city profits off of car theft. the city contracted tow company (auto return) makes money along with the city for all city tows. this seems like a conflict of interest to me.

after sitting in front of the building for an hour, doesn’t look like they get a lot of business here. I guess that’s a good thing. one police officer holding a rifle comes in and out singing Jersey Boys «sherry» he seems happy.
we mainly use this place as a parking lot when we come to Chinatown. it’s great! not crowded and close to all the groceries action!

One of the joys of having a car in San Francisco is the inevitable pile of tickets that stack up on the windshield. So it turns out that California wanted me to have a plate on BOTH the front and back of my car, but only decided that after I had the car for 11 months (although my strategy of parking so my front «plate» wasn’t visible worked for a while). After going to the DMV and getting new plates (you have to trade in one for a new set), I had to take my tickets to a police station to get them initialed, and the fine dropped from $ 104 to $ 10.
I called Central District Police Station before I went in to make sure they could take care of it. They answered the phone on the 2^nd ring and there was no automated system! So I headed on over, and before I even got in the front door, an officer was already offering assistance. He verified that I had two plates, we went inside, and he signed off the tickets. In and out in 5 minutes.
I’ve had to deal with other San Francisco-​run establishments (SFMTA, DMV, etc), and the Central Distict Police Station is by far the quickest and most pleasant.

I needed a parking permit for my movers and I worked with Officer Welsh. He was kind, patient, and very helpful. He returned my calls, explained the process, and was great to work with. It made the process painless! Thank you!!!

I always had great experiences with the cops in this Districts.
I work in a bar in SF and I had to called them a couple of times and in 2 minutes they were there to make sure I was ok.
Thank you Police of San Francisco!!!

My friend, B, and I were victims of a violent crime yesterday. A woman with a gun attacked us and tried to steal my purse. Keep in mind, we were next to the GAP on Post and Kearney at 3:00 PM on a Saturday.
The police responded so quickly and recovered my purse. The woman was arrested. The officers were so kind to my friend and I. I felt like they were looking at us like their daughters or younger sisters. On the whole, my experience with the SFPD was great, although the situation leading up to it– not so great.

We watched this cop tag a few people (see pic), and after each one, he would make his own traffic violation, including: illegal uTurn, running a stop sign.
As an emergency vehicle, the officer is obliged under this code to follow all traffic laws except in an emergency or pursuing a violation, in which case he must (among other things): «sounds a siren as may be reasonably necessary and the vehicle displays a lighted red lamp visible from the front as a warning to other drivers and pedestrians» this guy was not
Stop giving out lame tickets and start busting people for breaking into cars! You’re not serving and you’re not protecting — do your job!

I just watched the SFPD talk someone out of jumping from the roof of the Sutter Stockton garage. I can’t describe in words the overwhelming admiration I feel for the compassion and professionalism they showed tonight.

I wish I could present four, heck maybe even FIVE stars to a single member of the Central District Police Station, for kindness and helpfulness in the line of duty.
I had a pretty simple request of the CDPS: a parking permit for a moving truck. Admittedly, I had little luck getting anywhere by phone. So, I hopped on the 30 bus and met in person with Officer Philip Welsh. The man filled out the form for me, directed me to an ATM for the fee cash, waited for me outside with a my copy of the permit, then welcomed me the neighborhood. Thank you, Officer, for making this part of my move painless.

There are some things you cannot prepare for. When they occur you will be caught wholly off-​guard. Say for example you are shipping your car across the country. Say also that the vehicle that comes to pick up your car is an 18-​wheeler more than 80ft in length that can barely negotiate hills much less the narrowness of most San Francisco streets. This would likely be an example of a situation you are not prepared for. At least I wasn’t.
I had the driver on the phone and was able to lead him to Van Ness but he couldn’t find a place to park (I know, surprising, right?) He instructed me to contact my local police department for help in locating an open space big enough for him to park his truck and load my car onto it.
I was very glad that I had the SFPD non-​emergency line (415−553−0123) number programmed into my mobile! I explained my challenge, was told in a gruff tone that I should have obtained permits weeks earlier and transferred to my local police station — Central Station. I explained my challenge again and the quick-​thinking police officer on the other end of the line suggested the nearby Marina Green. I was overjoyed at his brilliant idea, thanked him zealously and headed out immediately to meet the driver.
A big thank you to Central Station for helping me in my time of unpreparedness! My car’s now safely on its way to Washington, D.C.

I had the same experience as the previous Unilocaler. As I attempted to guide a friend into a parking spot, someone trying to steal the spot hit me with their car multiple times literally just around the corner from this police station. We went straight to central pd station to file a report, but were given the runaraound by officer #1454 and told that it wasn’t worth following up because I was at fault for standing in the street and «jaywalking», regardless of the fact that the other car hit me multiple times and almost crushed me between it and the car behind.

Its not until something traumatic happens that u learn to appreciate the local police department:
When I arrived, the officers were reluctant to even come to the window. They saw us enter, but continued to watch TV & guffaw loudly for quite a while. I was given the run-​around while trying to file a report, and they implied it was not really worth an investigation. They told me to research the defendant’s address and info. They only checked the VIN # but said it could be a stolen car, so there was no way to find the assailant.
So I left for another station…