As we recover from the economic and social fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco needs a resurgence in tourism, businesses reopening, residents staying in the city, and newcomers moving in. None of this will happen if San Francisco leadership cannot ensure public safety Right.
Crime in the city made national headlines this month after former fire commissioner Don Carmignani was violently assaulted in the street by a man with a metal pipe and a downtown whole food store was temporarily closed after just a year of operation because fire department executives Company said they were concerned about worker safety.
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Responsibility for public safety rests with Mayor London Breed and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Jenkins is taking significant steps to ensure that there are consequences in our criminal justice system and that victims receive the justice they deserve.
6 ways SF city guides can improve public safety
Now other elected officials like the mayor and board of directors must act to improve public safety. Here are six steps to ensure public safety now:
►Fully fund our police department through a voter-approved bylaw amendment for full occupation. Since 2020, police officer numbers have fallen dangerously, beginning with $120 million in budget cuts implemented by Mayor Breed. Although supervisors recently approved spending $25 million in overtime as a one-time stopgap measure, we must fix the structural problem to fill the hundreds of vacancies at our neighborhood stations.
Only a fully funded police agency can respond to public safety needs such as: These include ending open-air drug markets, solving homicides, protecting small businesses, preventing burglaries and robberies, and enforcing traffic laws to protect pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Managers Matt Dorsey and Catherine Stefani proposed an action that would ensure that we meet our workforce targets. This bold plan is a step in the right direction.
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►Reroute lower-priority calls to other agencies and invest in proven strategies that prevent crime in the first place. Police officers are not the most appropriate public safety agency for all calls. We need to change local laws that require police to respond to minor issues like barking dogs, which are better handled by animal control officers.
Deploying parking attendants in parks and playgrounds and community ambassadors in business corridors allows officers to respond quickly to high-priority calls.
Invest in crime prevention strategies
We also need to invest in proven strategies that prevent crime. Strategic investments in drug treatment, Universal Basic Income, after-school activities for youth, security cameras, and vocational training and transitional employment all have an upstream impact in our most vulnerable communities.
►Properly addressing untreated mental health issues outside of the criminal justice system. About 20% of the American population has a mental illness, but 44% of inmates and 37% of inmates have a mental illness. Incarceration exacerbates these challenges, and the criminal justice system is not designed to provide these individuals with the care they need. New approaches to care are needed to place people in the right care.
San Francisco established a behavioral health court to improve public safety and reduce the recidivism rate of criminal suspects suffering from serious mental illness by connecting them to community treatment services. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to introduce CARE courts will also help.
►Make sure our emergency call system is working. Our 911 dispatchers answer approximately 2,000 calls per month and a recent performance review of one controller showed that less than 80% of 911 calls are answered in a timely manner. Each missed objective means a resident has to wait longer for an ambulance, police officer, or other first responder.
Meanwhile, response times for some of our key services, including medical calls, are increasing. Working with partners in organized labor, I will strengthen our 911 dispatch system by increasing dispatcher pay, recruiting additional dispatchers, and making system improvements to improve response times. That plan will require voter approval early next year.
Focus on hate crime, retail theft
►Prioritize ending hate crimes. As of the 2020 census, 34% of San Francisco’s Americans are Asian Americans. Like many cities, San Francisco has seen vicious anti-Asian hate crimes. We must remain vigilant to end these crimes that harm victims and create fear in communities. Hate crimes also target LGBTQ+ residents and places of worship such as synagogues and mosques. The upcoming budget should provide sufficient funding for the Office of Victim & Survivor Rights to support hate crime survivors and groups that serve them.
►Take action against organized theft in retail. Organized retail theft led to the closure of stores like Walgreens and Whole Foods in downtown San Francisco. These crimes often turn violent: a supermarket security guard was shot dead in my neighborhood and another security guard in Japantown was killed after an armed clash. We must take these crimes seriously and keep up the pressure to dismantle these criminal rings that are harming our businesses, workers and buyers.
While the public safety challenges the city is facing did not arise overnight, San Francisco must act quickly to change both the safety narrative and the reality on the street.
Strong leadership and better management of city resources are required to bring about real, lasting change. As long as I’m in public office, I look forward to working with all San Franciscos to continue the fight.
Ahsha Safaí, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, represents District 11, Excelsior, Outer Mission and Lakeview/OMI. He holds a dual bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
