San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin Unveils New Crime Information, Critics Say It Doesn’t Inform Full Story – NBC Bay Space
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office on Friday unveiled a new section of its website that includes a wide range of statistics on how often District Attorney Chesa Boudin and his staff file criminal charges. The announcement comes as Boudin continues to face harsh criticism from city leaders and even his own former prosecutors, who believe the recent release of data does little to exonerate Boudin’s office of what they describe as failing and dangerous policies.
According to Boudin’s office, the new digital dashboards provide current and historical data on the number of arrests and prosecutions for a variety of crimes.
New digital dashboards released on the district attorney’s office website show prosecution rates for a range of offences.
Members of the public can easily track San Francisco crime data over time, number of incidents, and arrest and prosecution rates for more than 60 types of incidents from 2011 to present.
Sara Yousuf, Deputy Director of Communications at the District Attorney’s Office
“The public will be able to easily track San Francisco crime data over time, the number of incidents, and arrest and prosecution rates for more than 60 types of incidents from 2011 to the present,” wrote Sara Yousuf, deputy Communications Director for the District Attorney who issued a statement on behalf of the office announcing the new feature. The district attorney’s office said the dashboards are designed to help residents see the relationship between incidents, arrests and law enforcement.
The overall prosecution rate in SF remains largely the same under Boudin
According to the new dashboards, Boudin’s overall prosecution record mirrors that of his predecessor, now Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon. Of all the arrests made by the city’s police force this year, Boudin’s office has filed charges in about 56 percent of the cases, according to the office’s website.
“Simply stating the fee percentage doesn’t capture the full scope of the problem,” said Brooke Jenkins, a former assistant district attorney in Boudin’s office. Jenkins, who resigned last month and joined efforts to recall Boudin, spoke to the investigative unit shortly after Boudin’s new dashboards were released and expressed skepticism about using the data to draw any concrete conclusions about Boudin’s performance.
Prosecutors Brooke Jenkins and Don Du Bain tell the investigative unit that they have quit their jobs at the San Francisco DA’s office and have joined efforts to recall their former boss, Chesa Boudin. Bigad Shaban reported.
Former SF prosecutors accuse DA of making the city more dangerous
Last month, in her first on-camera interview since retiring, Jenkins accused Boudin of making San Francisco more dangerous by reducing criminal charges for violent offenders and at times not prosecuting them at all.
“The fact that killers can be released just doesn’t sit well with me,” Jenkins told the Investigative Unit in October.
While Boudin declined to be questioned about the allegations, his office flatly denied the allegations, calling them “politically motivated.”
3) Prosecutor Don du Bain says he considers District Attorney Chesa Boudin a friend but firmly believes he must be recalled.
“I’ve seen decisions in this office … since Chesa took over, it has shaken my conscience, and I’ve been a prosecutor for 30 years.”
WATCH: pic.twitter.com/vMky6xHY51
– Bigad Shaban (igBigadShaban) October 24, 2021
Longtime prosecutor Don du Bain, who also resigned from the district attorney’s office last month, joined Jenkins in expressing doubts about the ability to glean legitimate insight from the newly released data.
He says it’s not enough for the public to know whether charges have been filed. He argues that it is crucial to know what the exact charges were and whether those were the actual charges that would remain in the final resolution of the case. Just because charges have been filed in a case does not mean that those charges ultimately stand.
#EXCLUSIVE:
1) Two San Francisco prosecutors have just resigned, telling us they have joined efforts to oust their former boss, District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
In their first TV interviews, they explain why they think Boudin is making the city more dangerous.https://t.co/OJabSfIxHS
– Bigad Shaban (igBigadShaban) October 24, 2021
We undercharge cases and sometimes don’t charge them at all.
Don du Bain, longtime prosecutor and former assistant district attorney in San Francisco
“There is a huge discrepancy between what a defendant is accused of and what they ultimately plead guilty to or were convicted of,” he said. “We undercharge cases and sometimes don’t charge them at all.”
The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit recently reported on a man originally charged in San Francisco with assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment and multiple other charges in a domestic violence case. However, the district attorney’s office ultimately allowed the defendant to plead a misdemeanor count of vandalism, which also included one year of domestic violence counseling and 3 years of probation.
While Boudin’s overall rate of charges hasn’t strayed much from the city’s rates over the past decade, his willingness to prosecute differs when he focuses on specific types of crimes. Lower-level offenses, such as “disturbing the peace” and “disorderly conduct,” which may include loitering, begging, and being intoxicated in public, reflect a lower rate of fees in Boudin’s administration. According to the District Attorney’s Office website, Boudin’s staff only file new charges about 10 percent of the time in such cases. The year before Boudin took office, the fee rate had more than doubled.
In a statement, Boudin said the new online features reflect his dedication to transparency.
My office is committed to transparency and data-driven policies, and these new dashboards encourage greater public access to criminal justice data.
District Attorney Chesa Boudin
“My office is committed to transparency and data-driven policies, and these new dashboards encourage improved public access to criminal justice data,” he wrote. “I commend the hard work of our data team in creating these new, lightweight dashboards to improve transparency and access to information, and we’re proud to share them with the public.”
The announcement of the new website comes amid efforts to recall Boudin. His opponents recently submitted more than 83,000 signatures to force him to hold a new election next June. The San Francisco Department of Elections has yet to certify the signatures, but organizers submitted about 32,000 more signatures than they need to get the recall question on the ballot.
Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who represents San Francisco’s Marina District, said the new dashboards don’t provide full transparency into how Boudin’s office is prosecuting violent crime.
“It certainly doesn’t show the big picture,” she said. “You have to deliver what’s happening in the backend.”
It certainly doesn’t tell the whole story.
Catherine Stefani, San Francisco Supervisor, referring to prosecution statistics just released by the prosecutor
9) @SupStefani hopes their legislation will force the prosecutor’s office to increase transparency. She says San Francisco deserves to know how often violent criminals are released.
Yesterday marks 139 days since we first requested an interview with DA Chesa Boudin.@nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/tUK76l62Qh
– Bigad Shaban (igBigadShaban) October 29, 2021
The proposed law would require DA, Police Dept., to regularly disclose details of the prosecution and arrest of violent offenders
Stefani says the public deserves to know how cases are ultimately resolved and not just how they are initially charged, which can often be wildly different.
On Tuesday, San Francisco’s board of directors is expected to vote on an executive order written by Stefani that would force prosecutors and police to issue quarterly reports detailing how often domestic abusers are arrested and prosecuted. The district attorney’s office would also need to record exactly what types of verdicts are handed down for each of these cases.
San Francisco Supervisor Catherine Stefani is trying to force District Attorney Chesa Boudin to release details of how his office is prosecuting some of the city’s most violent offenders. Bigad Shaban reported.
In a letter sent to lawmakers last week, Boudin noted “important concerns” about “restrictions on proposed reporting requirements.”
“The requested statistics detailed in the ordinance overlook the wide range of victim services and advocacy that my office provides to survivors of domestic violence, whether or not a criminal case is pursued,” Boudin wrote. “These services include, but are not limited to, assistance with applying for civil protection orders, crisis support services and counseling, guidance in navigating the criminal justice system, referrals to local resources and services, court hearing assistance, and a variety of both short term and ongoing care.”
The San Francisco Police Department expressed support for the legislation during a committee hearing on the ordinance last week.
Stefani tells the investigative unit she’s confident her law will pass.
“I know I have the six votes,” she said.
If approved, the new reporting requirements would come into effect in the first quarter of 2022.
“If you don’t explain what’s happening after the indictments, you’re not getting a full picture of what’s happening,” Stefani said. “It certainly doesn’t tell the whole story.”
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