San Francisco mayor announces measures aimed at curbing crime

San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) on Tuesday announced new measures aimed at curbing crime in the city, including drug use and home break-ins, The Associated Press reported. 

In a news conference on Tuesday, Breed said she will introduce legislation that would allow law enforcement access to surveillance video in certain situations and make it harder for people to sell stolen goods. 

Breed also announced the use of emergency powers to attempt to improve safety in the Tenderloin district, one of San Francisco’s poorest neighborhoods, which is also home to several government buildings including City Hall, according to the AP. 

“What I’m proposing today, and what I will be proposing in the future will make a lot of people uncomfortable, and I don’t care,” Breed said. “We are past the point where what we see is even remotely acceptable.”

Breed’s announcement follows her meeting with the Tenderloin community last week where residents said city officials aren’t doing enough to clean the streets, provide housing for homeless people and deter drug dealers. 

Residents also shared their frustration with public schools spent much of last year doing virtual learning while the city’s neighboring districts and private schools conducted in-person learning, the AP reported. 

San Francisco police commissioner and defense attorney John Hamasaki argue that taxpayers’ money should be spent on services, treatment, and housing instead of extra policing and housing. 

“The situation in the Tenderloin isn’t ultimately going to be solved through more policing,” Hamasaki said. “It seems like we’re doing the same dance over and over and expecting different results.”

Breed added she will ask the city’s Board of Supervisors for more money to fund police overtime and increase the police department’s budget, the AP noted.