The city is encouraging residents to walk and bike instead of drive their cars and park downtown. Has there been an increase in police patrols along bicycle and pedestrian routes? The only police patrols I ever see are from inside police cars, which obviously cannot see into many of these pedestrian areas.

@resident, excellent points.

Also, are there security cameras in the tunnels? Are there security cameras in the parking garages? Will there be security cameras in all the expensive new garages the city is planning on building to accommodate our ridiculous growth rates?

Safety-conscious people, esp. women, know that it's much safer to walk above-ground and to use on-street parking.

The reporter writes 'Palo Alto police Sgt. Brian Philip said the attack was not an attempted robbery, but it was a battery by a person who appeared to be having a mental health crisis. Police have not located the man.

"Palo Alto is typically a safe place. This was unusual," he said. But he added that officers are aware of homeless persons who may stay in or near the tunnel and who frequent the other underpass and tunnels between University Avenue and the Palo Alto Caltrain station.'

Sgt. Brian Philip, you need to realize you are physically much more imposing than many, and you carry a gun, so to you Palo Alto is a "safe place". However for many who are less physically fit, can be subject to being preyed upon.

Unfortunately, our city manager and city council have been reducing the staffing of police officers; where there use to over 90 officers, they are now staff number around 70. The reduced number means less traffic enforcement, less patrolling, less community policing and just more of responding to calls.

The wide sidewalks, solid roof, and quiet of this tunnel attract poor men who have nowhere else to sleep. I often see camps there. I wonder if the assailant came from one of them; sleeping outside for months or years on end isn't good for your metal health.

The homeless in Palo Alto is getting very extreme. When I ride downtown on my way to work on every street there are homeless, mostly disturbed homeless coming out of the alleys and building areas swearing and yelling at each other. There is constant loitering going on in front of stores asking for money. I feel bad for the business as I don't visit them when they are out in front. Over in back of parking lot by old zibbos constant issues going on in the back, either drug or fighting with each other WE need police to start walking the downtown starting at either end. Not sure what to do but we need to do something

Police Sgt. Brian Philip claims "on-duty police frequently patrol both the Homer Avenue and Caltrain tunnels".

Well, I traverse these tunnels frequently and have never seen an officer on duty.

[Post removed.]

The tunnel provides a path for homeless along El Camino and from the Opportunity Center to panhandle, hang out, or commit crime. There was also the cyclist robbed at gunpoint a few years ago:

Web Link

Can we afford a few cameras around our city? It might discourage some crime (excluding the mentally ill), or at least help identify the perpetrators. Put them at train stations, near bike racks, tunnels, etc.

The possibility of random attacks by mentally ill homeless folks is yet another reason to deter the RV village along ECR, particularly across from Palo Alto Medical Center and the Opportunity Center.

Cameras!

Was any additional description of the man provided besides gender and approximate age? Race, height & build, facial hair, clothing, etc? I'm one of many people that use that tunnel every day and it might prove valuable if the general public had more to go on.

Although understandable under the violent circumstances that the woman may not remember or be sure enough to say, but if there is additional information on this assailant it should be reported for public safety and awareness.

@dtn wrote: "The homeless in Palo Alto is getting very extreme."

This is a regionwide problem [portion removed.] It has reached a crisis point and needs to be addressed comprehensively and cooperatively, not just pushed out of sight by those communities that can afford it. [Portion removed.]

To "Not Self-Centered".

Gosh. What a strange and strong reaction to a local resident commenting on what they themselves see. Yes, what people see locally may be part of a larger problem and it may require a wider solution, but it is also direct local data on a perceived problem. It's worth listening to, not simply ignoring!

Nina has been my tailor for years. I hope she's ok. I also hope the miscreant is prosecuted and jailed.

Video surveillance of public areas might be useful in preventing robberies,
but I don't see it influencing a person having a mental health crisis.

Not jail, hospitals. We need mental care facilities for the majority of the problem homeless folks I see, not jail. Back in the day we used to have these places but nobody wanted to pay for them so they got rid of them back in the 80's. You pay one way or another Society, this is the price for saving a few bucks on mental care facilities...endless random street crimes that CANNOT be solved by jails.

Gosh, I'm worried about Nina. She really needs to get checked out if she was dizzy for most of the day. Head trauma is very dangerous. It can seem okay and then serious problems can suddenly appear hours or days later.

[Post removed.]

Camera surveillance might have help police to identify the attacker, and social services to find a way to prevent future attacks by that person.

I have used Home tunnel on a daily basis ever since it was built (its a wonderful resource), but have never, not once, seen a police presence there. I wonder if the police still run bicycle patrols? There are always quite a few down-on-their-luck people in the tunnel, on the steps up to the clinic or between the tunnel and Paly along the walk/bike path. They may be residents at the Opportunity Center, but some are probably living outdoors. Much as I don't like to be watched by cameras myself, I do think that surveillance in public spaces like the tunnels would be quite helpful.

@He used to have a solution - "nobody wanted to pay for them so they got rid of them back in the 80's"

The deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill started in the 1960s. Reasons are complicated, and include "nobody wants to pay" but also a misplaced optimism about psychiatric drugs, and an overreaction to poor conditions in mental hospitals. The ACLU was on the forefront of fighting for deinstitutionalization, and feature it as one of their accomplishments.

Web Link

This NY Times from 1984 covers the issue well.

Web Link

Interesting number in the article, there were 37,500 in mental hospitals in California in 1959. That's the equivalent of almost 100,000 today. Society today doesn't have the stomach to round up and force people into mental hospitals. Though it would pretty much fix the homeless problem.

Thank you.
I do that some times too.
I will don't to it any more.

My daughter works as a nurse at PAMF; she walks through this tunnel and back twice a day.

My daughter says there are homeless men, seemingly very mentally ill, sleeping in the tunnel both day and night.

In the ten years she has worked at PAMF in Palo Alto, she has never seen any sign of a PAPD officer anywhere near that tunnel-- not once! Not even driving by on Alma or Homer.

Yet, these men often beg for money, and have even harassed some PAMF employees. There have been reports to PAPD of this in the past.

Obviously, PAPD is being dishonest with the public, and they need to assign a foot or bike patrol through the Homer tunnel at least a couple of times a day.

We need more video cameras, definitely.

I have wondered for several years about the sanity of putting a homeless shelter (Opportunity Center) next to PAMF and one block away from Palo Alto High. [Portion removed.]

I also use the Homer tunnel frequently and have never seen a police presence. I've also never been harassed by a "homeless" person.

@Grrrrowlllling - The police patrol the tunnel a couple times a day, your daughter walks through the tunnel a couple times a day. There are 1440 minutes in a day, so the odds are your daughter won't see the police patrols, even though they happen. Patrols aren't useful at stopping crime for that reason, too much space to patrol, too few police. They'll never be in the right place at the right time.

Empower the police to be proactive, not reactive. Vigorous anti-loitering laws would let police clear out the tunnel, not patrol it. Get rid of the RVs. We seeing the consequences of not being serious about crime. And definitely get cameras up.

@midlander and Stew pid(quite clever)Thanks for the back up. @not self-centered, I didn't say to push it away, I said Palo Alto needs to do something!! It is getting dangerous around our town. For the police to say they monitor is complete crap as they would see the homeless items living under the tunnel. When I ride my bike I never know what to expect on the other side. Along the bike path is an issue also. Our town says enough is enough of the RV's but yet there they all are along the side. As reported last night on channel 5 nothing has been done with having them removed from the sides of El Camino. Do I think they are a huge problem, probably not but no body knows who really lives in them. I suggest that we open the parking lot behind red cross or designate a parking lot for them to park over night. They can pay a fee based on their income. Palo Alto and their surrounding neighbor cities need to get together. Menlo Park figured it out by not allowing parking along their streets at all at night.

I am 81 years old and have lived in Palo Alto for 46 years. There has been a drastic increase in the number of mentally ill living on the streets and panhandling in PA in the last 10 or so years. I give cash and food to homeless regularly provided they aren't panhandling (I don't like the aggressive request and it makes me think they are trying to buy drugs or booze). Living on the streets is never pleasant and with mental illness they often can't take being in closed quarters unless they are regularly taking their meds. I was chased and yelled at by a homeless caucasian man last week while walking through the University Avenue tunnel. I almost got hit by a car because I wanted to cross at Ramona and Homer so I wouldn't have to face the panhandling at The Whole Foods crosswalk. I wish there were a way to help the mentally ill. The way they are living right now is not helping them and it certainly isn't helping our community. I'm afraid to walk alone. The only time I see police out of their vehicles is when they are eating lunch or writing a ticket. Walking or biking would give them a better relationship with the citizens of Palo Alto. (I do see parking enforcement on bikes)

@dtn - Is there anything wrong with pushing it away? There is no larger solution coming, so it is the best we can do.

@john_alderman: how do you know the PAPD patrols the tunnel a couple of times a day? Have you seen or asked them if they patrol the tunnel? I frequently walk to downtown Palo Alto and rarely see an officer. For a short while there was an officer on foot on University Ave. at Emerson. She was great telling people not to ride their bikes on the sidewalk and warned pedestrians about walking through red lights, etc. For some reason that didn't last long...

There needs to be an officer(s) whose beat is the downtown area, from Litton near the park to Homer, including the train station, University bike/pedestrian underpass and Homer tunnel. I also agree that stiffer laws need to be enforced. The sit-lie ordinance needs to extend beyond University Ave. and include no sleeping on benches.

I feel sorry for the police officers that have to try and take care of a problem that was formerly taken care of by mental institutions. I also feel sorry for the librarians who have to spend their time monitoring the homeless who hang out in the library, using it as a place to sleep.

I'm tired of the politically correct do-nothing people who complain every time someone brings up the homeless issue. Nothing gets done. I don't think it's healthy for the mentally ill to be sleeping rough on the streets. It's not good for them and it's not good for the community.

This is a Palo Alto newspaper, so yes, it's about Palo Alto.

"I'm tired of the politically correct do-nothing people who complain every time someone brings up the homeless issue. Nothing gets done. I don't think it's healthy for the mentally ill to be sleeping rough on the streets. It's not good for them and it's not good for the community."

You're right, but the politically uncorrect people don't want to pay for mental institutions. Got any workable ideas?

"This is a regionwide problem, not one limited to your elitist little bubble. It has reached a crisis point and needs to be addressed comprehensively and cooperatively, not just pushed out of sight by those communities that can afford it."

Gee, if we were elitist here, don't you think we'd have pushed this out of sight by now? We obviously have not, so draw the dots.

And don't you, in your enlightened state, agree that applying the word "problem" to a class of human beings is an elitist affectation?

So tell us: what is your exemplary program for treating the mentally ill street people in your anonymous enlightened community?

@Ralph " how do you know the PAPD patrols the tunnel"

Read the article, and you will find out. Then read my post again and you will also find out why you are statistically unlikely to see the police when you walk downtown, even though they are also patrolling downtown. If Downtown wants a dedicated police officer (I agree it is a good idea), then maybe the Business Improvement District should up their fees and pay for one.

@Curm - Are you going to help get the ACLU onboard for forced institutionalization of the mentally ill? We'll need that before we start investing in new mental hospitals, or converting prisons. The expose Life magazine did had far more to do with the closing of mental hospitals than funding cuts. These are some pictures from the expose:

Web Link

Web Link

Web Link

Web Link

It's why trains belong underground, not people.

PAPD is below minimum staffing. Officers have been leaving to other agencies. Several have gone to Santa Clara PD. No one wants to join PAPD.

>> Several have gone to Santa Clara PD. No one wants to join PAPD.

I stumbled on a web page in the City of Palo Alto webpage that lists the salaries
of all city employees.

Police officers in Palo Alto make around or over $200,000 a year. It is hard to say
that is enough to risk one's life, or even it is too much, but clearly in terms of some
of the crime and law and order issues we do not have enough people to patrol
our city.

Our police are pretty good and professional, and I don't mean anything
bad about them, but $200K is quite a bit. Some of them, maybe most of them do
not even live in the area, or pay for family to live out of the area while they commute
here. Our cops do a good job, but in my interactions, just what I have seen, in almost
every incident that I have seen that involved a police officer, they are far from perfect.
The best thing about Palo Alto police is that in general after they exhaust other
alternative they do the right thing in a mostly non-lethal manner and things work out
and they get along with the community ... that is very important.

I think $170,000 would be fine, or raise the taxes of Palo Altans, IN A FAIR AND
PROGRESSIVE WAY instead of surreptitiously dumping costs on the middle and
working class with all these fees and assessments. Imagine the cost of these
pensions and how long that is going to last, and how many can retire early, get
another job another pension. The way we fund things in Palo Alto now we are
subsidizing the very rich by charging fees, etc. As we have shifted over to this
elitist paradigm of course things have gotten worse in Palo Alto. It hollows out
the rest of the economy and is an indirect cause of workers not being able to
afford to work and live here. Meanwhile every time and issue like this comes up
someone tries to find a way to blame ALL the homeless or even point to the
RV parkers.

If we cannot lower police salaries, and we cannot raise them or afford to pay enough
of them to adequately protect our city, then we must find other better ways to
patrol and respond to incidents. Is there an emergency button or something at the
Homer underpass?

Instead of bringing in more money from people who have it and should be paying
their taxes, we coddle the richest Palo Altans at the expense of everyone else. This
is unworkable in the long term, but it is the American way these days. What do the
very rich care, they live in gated compounds and don't care about other people's
safety if their propensity for avoiding taxes is any indication.

@PaloAlto Aint Mayberry - "Police officers in Palo Alto make around or over $200,000 a year."

You are reading something very very wrong, because that is not true. Only The Chief, Assistant Chief, and one Captain are salaried at over $200,000. Median salary for an officer is ~110k, and median total pay including overtime is ~130k.

john_alderman ... look at the column marked total compensation. I could not find one that with
overtime and benefits does not make over $200K ... and then there is retirement.

Transparent California ( City Workers' Salaries ): Web Link

In fact the chief and officers mostly make over $300K, here is two examples:

Ron Watson Assistant Police Chief
Palo Alto, 2016 $203,096.90 $0.00 $22,172.00 $225,268.90 $112,893.99 $338,162.89
Patricia Lum Police Captain-Adv
Palo Alto, 2016 $201,317.55 $0.00 $18,199.20 $219,516.75 $112,156.43 $331,673.18

Where are you getting your numbers from?

Not too long ago a PAPD night dispatcher made $300,000 with overtime so her pension was based on that $300K figure. Many PAPD employees retire very early -- at 50 I think -- and take their Palo Alto pension with them while they work in other districts.

@PaloAlto Aint Mayberry - Like I said, you are reading it wrong. You are looking at the last column, which is the total cost of employment. Their salary is the first column, total pay is the 4th column.