Beneath Heavy Criticism, San Francisco Supervisors To Vote On Mayor’s Emergency Order – CBS San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SFG / AP) – An emergency ordinance from Mayor London Breed aimed at addressing drug trafficking and overdosing in San Francisco’s tenderloin neighborhood has been heavily criticized ahead of its board of directors to vote on Thursday.

The public health declaration of a state of emergency enables the emergency management department to forego licensing, zoning and contracting rules in order to speed up hiring street cleaners and security services and building a new temporary center where people can be treated and counseled, Breed said.

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The order has nothing to do with a police operation, but critics are calling on the board of directors to reject the statement amid Breed’s broader plan to flood the area with officials and jail drug users if they refuse to accept treatment.

“Threatening people to arrest doesn’t work to bring addicts into treatment,” said San Francisco supervisor Dean Preston, who wants the mayor to spend money on expanding mental health services, alternatives to the police and hotel rooms for the homeless.

“We can do this, but only if we learn from past mistakes instead of repeating them,” he said on social media.

The tenderloin includes museums, the main public library and government offices, including the town hall. But it is also teeming with people who are homeless or in marginal homes, with a high concentration of drug dealers and drug users.

Breed said last week it was time to “be less tolerant of all the bull – that destroyed our city”. She said it wasn’t fair that residents couldn’t use their parks or leave their homes.

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“If someone openly uses drugs on the street, we give them the opportunity to take advantage of the services and treatments we offer. But if they refuse, we won’t allow them to continue consuming on the streets, ”she said on social media this week. “The families in the neighborhood deserve better.”

The number of overdose-related deaths in San Francisco has increased more than 200% since 2018, and over 700 people died from drug overdoses in the city last year, more than the number who died from COVID -19 died, according to the proclamation.

Nearly 600 people died of drug overdoses this year through November, with nearly half of the deaths occurring in the Tenderloin and neighboring South of Market District, the proclamation said. These areas make up 7% of the population of San Francisco.

Politically liberal cities in the US are grappling with crime following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, when their elected leaders pledged ways to reduce friction between police and vulnerable color communities, especially African-Americans like Floyd.

San Francisco Prosecutor Chesa Boudin joined the city’s public defender earlier this week in denouncing the mayor’s plan, saying that detaining people struggling with addiction, mental health problems and homelessness would not work .

They want her to use the money to build additional treatment beds, shelter, professional training, and other social services.

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