Storefront Police Station Opens in Gaslamp Quarter

With an adult bookstore and several dilapidated buildings as neighbors, a storefront San Diego Police Department substation has opened in the Gaslamp Quarter. The station is intended to provide the visible physical presence of the law that police and merchants hope will deter crime and change the perception people have of the area.

The storefront, at 739 5th Ave., will serve as a “centralized headquarters away from headquarters” for police while acting as a liaison to merchants who are aware of the criminal activity in the area, said Tim Smith, officer in charge. It will be staffed by two community relations officers and a receptionist.

Smith, who has patrolled the area for six years, said that although the Gaslamp Quarter is relatively safe, people’s perception of the area has been negative, primarily because of the presence of transients.

One of the main goals of the storefront station is to establish a business alert program in conjunction with the Gaslamp Quarter Council that would be similar to Neighborhood Watch programs in residential areas, Smith said.

As part of the program, the storefront will be the site of meetings on crime prevention where merchants will be chosen to serve as block watch captains. Other functions include serving as a social service referral office for transients.

“By far, this is the most positive response (to problems in the area) we’ve received,” Smith said during an open house at the storefront Wednesday.

“We hope that the close proximity of the police will deter crime,” said Terry Hughes, marketing consultant for R. Watson & Associates, the company that is renting the storefront to police for $1 a year. “Business owners will take more pride in the area.”

San Diego City Councilman Uvaldo Martinez lobbied for the Police Department to obtain about $175,000 to create the storefront, according to Paul Grasso, executive assistant to Martinez.

“The police presence there makes people feel more comfortable,” Grasso said.

Larry Monserrate, executive director of the Gaslamp Quarter Council, said the storefront is a “significant step” toward diminishing the perception that the area is “not as safe as other areas.”