San Francisco’s ‘very aggressive’ move against homeless as mayor Breed warns the time for compassion is over

Fed up, San Francisco’s mayor has said the time for compassion is over, announcing plans to tackle the city’s homeless crisis, which has left residents fearing for their safety.

Mayor London Breed announced that the city will take a “very aggressive” approach to removing the street encampments that have marred the city by the bay for the past four years.

Certain parts of the city, including the Tenderloin, are known for their poverty and misery. The situation has become so bad that local businesses can no longer hire employees and residents feel forced to flee.

The increase in the number of homeless people, now around 8,300, has also brought with it a whole host of other problems, such as many illegal drug dealers, fentanyl users and violent and intimidating behavior near the tent camps.

“We had to move from a compassionate city to an accountable city, and I’ve led the effort to make sure we approach this problem differently than we have before,” Breed said Thursday, marking a turnaround.

“We are being very aggressive and assertive in moving camps. There can even be criminal sanctions,” she explained. The “incursion” is expected to begin in less than two weeks, once staff have been retrained to follow the new legal guidelines.

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

“The problem is not going to be solved by building more housing,” Breed said. “Thankfully, there’s a Supreme Court ruling.”

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

The judge ordered city officials to no longer ban homeless people from public campsites unless they are offered suitable indoor shelter.

Officials were also not allowed to issue fines or arrest people who refused to leave.

But now that the Supreme Court has ruled 6-3, the city will have more power to help clean up the damage, and authorities plan to provide shelter and support to those affected.

The case was the most significant to come before the Supreme Court in decades. It comes as cities across the country grapple with the political complexities of how to deal with a growing number of homeless people and public frustration over related health and safety issues.

“We continue to lead the way in providing services, but we can no longer let people walk around on the streets of San Francisco, especially when we have a place for them to go,” Breed said.

In San Francisco, homeowners, businesses and local leaders have grown frustrated with visible signs of homelessness, including public streets blocked by sprawling tents and trash.

The crime-ridden city centre has seen many shops and restaurants close since its drastic decline, despite Breed attempting to inflate the statistics by claiming the number of offences will have fallen by 2023.

In October 2023, it was reported that seven Starbucks locations were planning to close due to the city’s ongoing problems with crime, drug use and homelessness.

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

Homeless people gather in the city centre, pushing their belongings into shopping trolleys or sitting on sports bags, waiting for municipal services such as referrals for shelter, food or clothing, or treatment for mental health or substance abuse problems.

Breed says she hopes to “clean them all up,” but didn’t provide specific details about how she plans to accomplish that goal. She’ll likely need police support.

The city calculates homelessness figures every three months, and the last count in April 2024 showed a 41 percent decrease compared to July 2023.

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

It is the lowest figure the city has recorded since the city began keeping records in 2018.

According to Breed, the decline is the result of a number of factors, not least of which is police enforcement of anti-camping laws when homeless people have reasonable access to shelter.

In September 2022, the 9th Court of Appeals ruled that cities (generally) violate the constitutional prohibition against 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 ban on clearing the camps lifted.

City officials are still required to pack and label all belongings of homeless people.

Breed faces three serious opponents for re-election in November, who say her administration has failed to address the problems of homelessness, encampments and open-air drug trafficking.

As rents rise and there is a nationwide shortage of affordable housing, more than 100,000 people are living on the streets of California.

Hawaii, Oregon and Arizona are among the western states where more homeless people live outside in cars and tents than inside shelters, despite billions spent to reduce homelessness, including San Francisco’s $672 million annual budget.

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

Advocates say many homeless people prefer to stay outside rather than in shelters because they risk being assaulted or threatened with violence.

Homeless people who have pets, work night shifts, need mental health care, or struggle with substance abuse often have difficulty finding a shelter that will take them in.