San Francisco votes on measures to compel drug treatment and give police surveillance cameras

SAN FRANCISCO– San Francisco voters will weigh in on a pair of public safety measures on Tuesday’s ballot that reflect frustration with crime and drug use in the politically liberal city, including a proposal to force treatment for adults who use illegal drugs and receive welfare .

The other ballot measure would expand police powers, give city officials more leeway to pursue suspects in vehicles, allow police to use drones and surveillance cameras and reduce paperwork requirements, including in use-of-force cases.

Mayor London Breed, a centrist Democrat in a tough re-election battle, placed both measures on the ballot. She faces three serious opponents who say her government has failed to tackle drug crimes, vandalism and theft. There are no primaries in San Francisco; voters will rank all candidates in preference to each other in the November elections.

Democratic leaders in liberal U.S. cities have had mixed results in their struggle to balance progressive criminal justice reforms with fed-up voters. In San Francisco, shoplifting, record fentanyl overdose deaths and the struggle to recover from the pandemic have frustrated residents and drawn negative attention from the national media.

Voters ousted progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin in a heated 2022 recall election, saying he was too lenient on criminals. Across the Bay from San Francisco in Oakland, progressive Mayor Sheng Thao is facing a possible recall election amid a crime wave that has prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to send California Highway Patrol officers and prosecutors to help.

Supporters of the two proposals on Tuesday’s vote have much better opponents. These include tech-backed social advocacy groups and CEOs such as Chris Larsen of cryptocurrency company Ripple and Jeremy Stoppelman of Yelp.

“These two proposals are incredibly popular,” said Kanishka Cheng, CEO of TogetherSF, a community advocacy organization she co-founded with billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz at the start of the pandemic. Even if the measures are not perfect, she said, “people are so frustrated that they are willing to try something different. That’s the sentiment I hear from voters every day.”

Opponents accuse tech billionaires of trying to buy the election and say Breed is simply trying to shore up the vote for November. The proposals will not make the public safer, they claim.

Proposal F would require single adults who do not rely on local welfare services – about 9,000 people per year – to be screened for illegal drug use. If they are found to be using drugs, an addiction specialist and the recipient must agree on treatment options, including inpatient care, a 12-step program, individual counseling, and replacement medication.

There is no sobriety requirement, only that a person make a good faith effort to participate in treatment if he or she wants to receive monetary assistance, which amounts to a maximum of just over $700 per month.

Supporters include recovery advocates, who say it’s far too easy for people to obtain and use illegal drugs in San Francisco and there aren’t enough options to help them get sober.

Sara Shortt, a spokesperson for the No on F campaign, responded that the measure punishes people who need help and could cause them to lose their homes.

“People will not feel comfortable requesting services if they know they will be asked intrusive questions and then mandated to participate in a program,” she said.

Proposal E would make a number of changes to the police department, including reducing the powers of the Civilian Police Oversight Committee, which the mayor said micro-manages the department.

The measure would also allow police to install public surveillance cameras, use drones, reduce paperwork and conduct more vehicle pursuits, something they currently can only do in the event of a violent crime or an imminent threat to public safety.

Giving police more leeway is supported by people like Michael Hsu, whose sports shoe and clothing store Footprint has been burglarized several times, most recently on January 1. Police arrived as the suspects left but were unable to pursue them as no lives were in danger. risk, and Hsu said the robbery cost him about $20,000.

But Yoel Haile, criminal justice director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, which heads the opposition, said expanding the pursuits would result in more people being injured or even killed in the densely populated city.

Meanwhile, relaxing paperwork requirements will mean less transparency and the use of technology will allow for greater covert surveillance by police, he said, adding that the way to make neighborhoods safer is through more housing, treatment options and jobs.

“What is being proposed is more power for the police, more resources for the police, more punitive policies,” Haile said. “They have been tried and failed.”