The patrolling guards are trained to de-escalate violent activity, assist police with arrests and act as a buffer for smaller crimes, in addition to providing hospitality.
Downtown Berkeley Ambassadors
Posted inCity
Berkeley program focused on work aims to offer lifeline to the homeless
The Streets Team program provides work experience to people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless with the goal that it will help them land paid employment.
Posted inSchools
Vandalism, crime cause problems at Allston Way Garage
The Allston Way Garage has reported an uptick in students loitering, creating graffiti, and engaging in sexual activity in the garage area. Photo: Francesca Paris When lunchtime at Berkeley High rolls around at 11:38 a.m., the gate on the Allston side of the Allston Way Garage comes down. Security guards stand sentry. The gate is […]
Posted inCommunity
Faith groups to sleep on street to support city’s homeless
A coalition of faith communities will gather on Thursday April 9 at 5 p.m. at Downtown Berkeley BART plaza to demonstrate their support for the city’s homeless population. Some plan to sleep on the plaza overnight. Photo: Emilie Raguso A coalition of faith communities will gather on Thursday April 9 at 5 p.m. at Downtown Berkeley BART plaza to demonstrate their support […]
Posted inCrime
Case dismissed against 2 homeless men after review of Berkeley beating video
Image: Bryan Hamilton The Alameda County district attorney’s office has dismissed the case against two men who pleaded guilty to battery charges last week. The decision came after authorities reviewed a video that showed an interaction, between the men and two Downtown Berkeley Association workers, that began as a verbal altercation and took a violent turn. In the video […]
Posted inCommunity
Activists, homeless demand end to campaign of ‘brutality’
Activists angered by a video that caught a downtown ambassador assaulting a homeless man hold a rally March 27 to protest the violence and proposed new laws regulating homeless behavior. Photo: Ted Friedman One day after a video that showed a Downtown Berkeley Association ambassador assaulting a homeless man went viral, a group of activists held […]
Posted inCrime
2 men take plea deals after 1 is beaten on video
Image: Bryan Hamilton Update, April 1: The Alameda County district attorney’s office has revisited the case, dropped the charges against both men, and had a judge declare them factually innocent. See the update. Original story, March 27: Two homeless men shown on video in a heated interaction that turned violent, when a Downtown Berkeley Association staffer appeared to punch […]
Posted inCrime
Video: Downtown Berkeley worker assaults homeless man
Image: Bryan Hamilton A Downtown Berkeley Association ambassador assaulted a homeless man Thursday evening behind CVS in what appears to be a violent incident that was captured on video. That homeless man and an associate were arrested by the Berkeley Police Department before the video came to light. After reviewing the video this week, police asked the district […]
Posted inCommunity, Crime & Safety, Nature
Two boar heads found in separate locations in Berkeley
A boar’s head was discovered around 11 a.m. Monday at the intersection of Adeline and Emerson. Photo: Anna Abramson A boar’s head was discovered around 11 a.m. Monday at the intersection of Adeline and Emerson. Photo: Anna Abramson Berkeley residents reported finding two boars’ heads and skin pelts in two separate locations Monday morning. The boar-skin […]
Posted inCommunity
Missing at-risk San Jose man found safe in Berkeley
Larry Morris. Photo: San Jose Police A mentally disabled man from San Jose who’s been missing since mid-August was found in downtown Berkeley on Thursday evening, apparently trying to take BART to Fremont. The man was found by a Downtown Berkeley Association manager who was heading home from work. Lance Gorée said he’d learned about the […]
Posted inCommunity
Downtown Berkeley ambassadors help, monitor homeless
Carmen Francois, a downtown Berkeley Ambassador, talks to someone on Shattuck Avenue. Photo: Natalie Orenstein On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Carmen Francois was on a mission. “We’re supposed to say hi to 60 people in 60 minutes,” she said. Francois, one of Berkeley’s downtown “ambassadors,” didn’t have any trouble meeting the quota. She ducked into […]