Experts advise not to put up spring couplets around your houses to be visible from outside during Lunar New Year

SAN FRANCISCO — Police experts have advised members of the Chinese community not to put up spring couplets around your houses to be visible from outside to prevent home invasions during the Lunar New Year.

Officer Eddie Wu from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Community Engagement Division provided Lunar New Year crime prevention tips to the Chinese community while members of this community have tended to be more vulnerable to be victimized in street robberies and home invasions.

In Chinese culture, red envelopes with lucky money for family members, relatives and friends are popular during the Lunar New Year as a way to send good wishes. However, the criminals might take the culture as opportunities to commit crime against members of the Chinese community due to more cash flows in the midst of festival celebrations.

For residential decorations, Wu suggested the Chinese community put up the spring couplets and Fai Chun inside the houses and apartments to prevent them to be visible from the outside rather than posting at the doors or windows to be seen by strangers and others as identifications as Asian families.

"It is one of the ways to reduce yourself from being victims of home invasion robberies," said Wu. "Because criminals believe that Asian families would have more cash and jewelry in their houses, in particular during the Lunar New Year. The spring couplets and Fai Chun become an easy sign for the perpetrators to pick their targets of crime."

On February 14, 2024, the 4th day after the Lunar New Year Day in 2024, at approximately 3:57 a.m., members of a family at a home in the 300 block of Winding Way at the Excelsior, which has become one of the largest Asian neighborhoods in San Francisco in recent years, were victims of a home invasion robbery.

Police officers responded to the house in the early morning and contacted victims who stated they were inside their residence when multiple unknown suspects forced entry into their home with firearms. The suspects ransacked the residence, stole jewelry, a purse worth thousands of dollars, and a vehicle. The suspects then fled the scene in an unknown vehicle. One victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident, according to SFPD.

After a 5-month-long investigation, the SFPD announced on July 10, 2204 the arrest of two suspects, 23-year-old Isaiah Banquerigo of Antioch and 21-year-old Montana Jones of Oakland, in connection with the home invasion robbery. Both suspects were charged with kidnapping, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, carjacking, and conspiracy.

With the collaboration of other outside jurisdiction investigators, SFPD investigators determined Banquerigo was suspected of being involved in multiple robberies in other cities as well as the San Francisco home invasion on February 14, 2024.

The growing Asian immigrant population in the South East neighborhoods including Excelsior, Oceanview, Ingleside, Outer Mission, Bayview, and Portola, have not only made it as the city's an emerging region for Asian immigrants, but also as the highest crime spots for violent home invasion robberies in recent years.

The native-born Asian Americans who have more integrated into the American mainstream society tend to not inherit much of Chinese culture by carrying cash around the Lunar New Year festival and saving cash at home.

More native-born Asian Americans and longtime Asian immigrants have resided at the westside of the city. As a result, more home invasion robberies occurred in the South East neighborhoods in recent years than in Richmond and Sunset, according to Wu.

Wu said homeowners could think of adding a double lock at their doors or gates to prevent strangers from forced entry into their houses. Wu recommended them buy commercial-type locks which would provide better security.

While keeping the spring couplets as well as shoes inside the houses, Wu also reminded community members to be more alert when they walked on the streets.

"Try to walk on the streets with family members and friends together rather than walk alone by yourself," Wu said that walking in groups would make a big difference to prevent being victimized.

If you need to go to the banks to get cash, Wu suggested that you should try to get as little cash as possible to prevent any big loss. It would be much better if you would go to your banks with friends together.

If you see someone has followed you from the bank, Wu said you should go to talk to a police officer immediately if you see them patrolling on the streets, or go to a nearby police station, or walk in any stores asking for help. You should never walk to any quiet area when you are followed by a stranger.

If you become a victim of crime unfortunately, Wu reminded everyone to file a police report for any crimes. "Although you might have no loss in any crime, the SFPD wants to know what had occurred. All this information would be very helpful for the community, other victims and the police department as well," Wu said.