{"id":26029,"date":"2023-04-19T13:12:07","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T20:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=26029"},"modified":"2023-04-19T13:12:08","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T20:12:08","slug":"san-francisco-lacks-plan-to-close-drug-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/04\/19\/san-francisco-lacks-plan-to-close-drug-markets\/","title":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO LACKS PLAN TO CLOSE DRUG MARKETS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by\u00a0Randy Shaw<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0April 17, 2023 (BeyondChron.org)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Whole<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SF Needs Citywide Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whole Foods\u2019 closure in Mid-Market<\/a> exposed the core problem: San Francisco\u2019s leaders talk about closing drug markets but the city lacks a plan to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A plan has clear markers for progress and accountability. A plan measures outcomes daily and adjusts resources accordingly. A plan ensures close collaboration between DPW and DPH to monitor sidewalks and streets to eradicate public health hazards. A plan has a target date for completion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t see this in San Francisco. I see officers temporarily ousting and sometimes arresting dealers. Drug markets\u2014such as those surrounding Whole Foods\u2014do not get consistent enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco has allowed drug cartels to openly operate for three years!  It\u2019s well past time for a more strategic approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Viable Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SFPD\u2019s \u201cdisruption\u201d strategy in the Tenderloin offers a partially viable plan. It\u2019s a model that, with federal and state help, could expand citywide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strategy, publicly announced by Assistant Chief David Lazar<\/a> at the February 1 meeting of TogetherSF Action, disrupts existing markets while preventing dealers from opening new ones a block away (some dealers join nearby markets but do not create new ones).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strategy closed the Tenderloin\u2019s two big daytime drug markets. Dealers still converge on other blocks like 300 Golden Gate at night but overall daytime dealing in the Tenderloin is way down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But UN Plaza\/Mid-Market didn\u2019t see an effective disruption strategy. The dealers and vendors displaced from UN Plaza simply moved across the street or down a block. The police did not follow them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SFPD\u2019s disruption strategy is limited by a lack of officers. A shortage that will soon get even worse due to more retirements. Relying on paying overtime to officers is not a sustainable strategy for closing drug markets citywide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SFPD clearly needs help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsom Must Intervene<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On December 12, 2022 I urged Governor Newsom to \u201csend in the National Guard<\/a>\u201d to close drug markets. Newsom did not embrace the idea but we heard that California Highway Patrol officers could be available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsom may be waiting for a public request from Mayor Breed but the situation demands action now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nobody will fault the Governor for dispatching CHP officers to Mid-Market, the Tenderloin, SOMA and 16th<\/sup> and Mission to stop open drug dealing. Newsom  would get great local, state and national acclaim if he helped oust drug cartels from San Francisco. In contrast, the governor\u2019s inaction has already raised questions why he\u2019s visiting other states instead of helping solve a crisis in the city where he was mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHP officers tackling drug markets would free up the SFPD to address car and home break-ins, commercial burglaries and other crimes. Bringing in the CHP on a short-term basis is essential to getting the city under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 27 Mayor Breed sent a letter to the new US Attorney requesting federal help to combat drug markets. She posted the letter and renewed her request in her April 11 Medium article<\/a>. But there is no evidence the feds have responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why I was glad to see Board President Aaron Peskin call last week<\/a> for Newsom, Pelosi, BART, the UC Regents, the DEA, and the California Highway Patrol to \u201ccoordinate with San Francisco police to help end the deadly epidemic of Fentanyl dealing in San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skeptics questioned why Peskin waited so long to get directly involved. But what other Supervisors have stepped forward to push this comprehensive law enforcement response? And don\u2019t we want every San Francisco elected official to push the state and feds to help solve the city\u2019s drug dealing and overdose crisis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need all of San Francisco\u2019s elected officials to demand a clear citywide plan to close drug markets in 2023. The city\u2019s future depends on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randy Shaw<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco\u2019s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s latest book is Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. He is the author of four prior books on activism, including The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. He is also the author of The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Posts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Randy Shaw\u00a0on\u00a0April 17, 2023 (BeyondChron.org) SF Needs Citywide Strategy Whole Foods\u2019 closure in Mid-Market exposed the core problem: San Francisco\u2019s leaders talk about closing drug markets but the city lacks a plan to do so. A plan has clear markers for progress and accountability. A plan measures outcomes daily and adjusts resources… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[441],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26029"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26029"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26030,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26029\/revisions\/26030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}