San Francisco’s ‘very aggressive’ transfer in opposition to homeless as mayor Breed warns the time for compassion is over

San Francisco's exasperated mayor said the time for compassion is over as she announced plans to tackle the city's homelessness crisis that has residents fearful for their safety.

Mayor London Breed announced that the city will take a “very aggressive” approach to removing the encampments from the streets that have blighted the City by the Bay for the past four years.

In certain parts of the city, including the troubled Tenderloin district, there is now so much misery and neglect that local businesses can no longer find staff and residents are forced to flee.

The increase in the number of homeless people, which currently stands at around 8,300, has brought with it a host of other related problems: the sidewalks are full of illegal drug dealers, fentanyl users, and violent and intimidating behavior is common near the tent camps.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the time for compassion is over when it comes to dealing with the city's homeless crisis, which has led to streets being littered with feces. Homeless people are considered part of the city's struggle with fentanyl problems in San Francisco.

“We have had to evolve from a compassionate city to a responsible city, and I have led the effort to ensure that we approach this issue differently than we have in the past,” Breed said Thursday in a shift in course on the issue.

“We will be very aggressive and forceful in moving the camps, which may even result in criminal consequences,” she said. The “clean-ups” are expected to begin in less than two weeks, once staff have been trained according to the new legal guidelines.

Her comments come just three weeks after the Supreme Court gave cities the authority to evict homeless people from encampments.

“Building more housing won't solve the problem,” Breed said. “Thank God for the Supreme Court decision.”

In December 2022, a federal judge banned the city of San Francisco from clearing homeless tents, even though clearing encampments was not prohibited.

The judge ruled that city officials could no longer evict homeless people from public campsites unless they were offered adequate indoor accommodation.

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The city will take a more “aggressive” approach to removing tents and homeless encampments from the streets. San Francisco plans to clear several known homeless encampments starting in August.

Officers were also prohibited from issuing summonses or arresting people who refused to leave their seats.

But the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling gives the city more power to help with the clearing. Authorities plan to offer shelter and support to those affected.

The case was the most significant to be heard on this issue before the Supreme Court in decades, and came at a time when cities across the country are wrestling with the politically complicated question of how to deal with rising numbers of homeless people and community frustration over related health and safety issues.

“We will continue to lead the way with our services, but we cannot continue to allow people to do whatever they want on the streets of San Francisco, especially when we have a place for them to go,” Breed said.

Conditions have become so bad that residents are afraid to leave their homes and local businesses can no longer hire staff. The area in front of the Federal Building in San Francisco was considered the largest open-air drug market in the entire city.

In San Francisco, homeowners, businesses and local politicians are frustrated by the visible signs of homelessness, which include public streets blocked by tents and trash.

The crime-ridden downtown has seen many stores and restaurants close since the city's drastic decline, although Breed has tried to inflate the statistics, claiming crime rates have dropped in 2023.

In October 2023, it was reported that seven Starbucks stores plan to close as the city continues to struggle with crime, drug use, and homelessness.

In late August 2023, a video was released showing the recently closed Nordstrom flagship store in San Francisco, which was nearly empty after nearly three decades in business.

Homeless people gather downtown, pushing their belongings into shopping carts or sitting on duffel bags, waiting for city services such as shelter, food or clothing, or treatment for mental health and substance abuse problems.

Homeless people gather downtown, pushing their belongings into shopping carts or sitting on duffel bags. Pictured is a homeless person on the sidewalk. City workers clean the streets and remove tents and belongings belonging to homeless people.

Breed says she hopes to exonerate them all, but did not provide specific details on how she plans to achieve that goal. She will likely need the assistance of the police to do so.

The city calculates its homeless numbers every three months, and at the end of the last count in April 2024, a 41 percent decrease was seen compared to July 2023.

In April, 360 tents and structures were counted – a decrease from 610 last summer and 385 in the February count.

This is the lowest value the city has recorded since data collection began in 2018.

Breed said this decline is due to a number of factors, not least police enforcement of laws against camping, even though homeless people have adequate access to emergency shelters.

The city calculates the city's homeless numbers every three months and at the end of the last count in April, a 41 percent decrease was found compared to July 2023. Homeless are considered the city's struggle with fentanyl problems in San Francisco earlier this year. Sidewalks are cleaned in San Francisco's homelessness-plagued Tenderloin neighborhood

A September 2022 ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said cities (generally) violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment when they punish homeless people for sleeping on public property or using blankets and pillows to protect themselves from the elements.

But earlier this month, a 9th Circuit panel ordered the injunction blocking the camps' evacuation to be lifted.

City employees must continue to bag and label property collected from homeless people.

This November, Breed faces a tough re-election battle as she faces three serious challengers who accuse her administration of failing to address the problems of homelessness, encampments and the open drug market.

With rising rents and a nationwide shortage of affordable housing, more than 100,000 people in California live on the streets.

Police are allowed to enforce laws against camping if homeless people have reasonable access to shelters. A San Francisco Police Department vehicle drives through a homeless camp being cleared in San Francisco. San Francisco is suffering from rising crime, an emptying downtown area, and residents moving to safer, cheaper areas.

Hawaii, Oregon and Arizona are among other Western states where more homeless people live outside in cars and tents than in shelters, despite billions being spent to reduce homelessness – including San Francisco's annual budget of $672 million.

The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is $3,000.

Advocates say many homeless people would rather stay outdoors than in shelters, where they face the risk of abuse or threats of violence.

Homeless people who have pets, work night shifts, need mental health care, or suffer from substance abuse have a difficult time finding shelter.