"B. is a 63 year old Black female with arthritis in her left leg and a broken left wrist. B. suffers from early stages of dementia brought on by a long history of alcohol abuse. She was evicted from her residential hotel room and was forced to sleep on the streets. With no address, Social Security was unable to locate B. and distribute her monthly disability income. After 6 months on the streets, B. was arrested in the Tenderloin by police officers for sleeping on the sidewalk."
"K. is a 47 year old Filipino male who was petitioned by his family to live and work in the United States. Upon arrival to San Francisco, K. and his partner opened up a salon in Outer Mission where K. worked as a hairstylist. After a few years K.'s partner passed away and K. sunk into a deep depression. He was forced to close the salon and could no longer afford to pay rent for his apartment. After months of transition between the houses of close friends, K. finally ended up on the street. He developed an infection in his right ankle and was unable to receive medical assistance because he did not have health insurance. Eventually, K. had to undergo an above the knee amputation. Among the long list of other medical conditions with which K. suffers are acute renal disease and diabetes. K. has been able to survive on the streets of San Francisco through petty drug sales and kind donations from the Filipino Community on 6th Street. K. was arrested by an undercover police officer for possession and sales of methamphetamine. K. had less than one gram of methamphetamine in his possession."
"G. is a 57 year old Black male. G. is homeless and currently receives disability benefits of $1000 a month. The owners of the building he sleeps in pay him $10 a day to sweep up the building and its surrounding areas. One day, G. walked by an undercover police officer dressed as a homeless drunk. The officer kept falling down and was trying to hold himself up by leaning up against a parking meter. Clearly visible was a $20 bill hanging out of his front jacket pocket. G. approached the man and said, 'Man, you're money is about to fall out of your pocket.' The officer fell down again, began screaming obscenities at G. and the money fell out of his pocket. G. picked up the $20 and walked away. Shortly after, he was arrested for theft."
"P. is a 19 year old Black male. At the age of 2, P. was given over to the foster care system because his mother was unable to care for him due to her drug abuse. P. grew up alternating between group homes and juvenile hall. At age 18, P. was aged out of the juvenile justice system and was brought to San Francisco. He has no contact with his birth family. P. has no employment and the education of a 5th grader. P. spent the past year sleeping on the streets or on BART trains and manages a small income from petty drug sales and panhandling. Currently, he owes $600 in BART fare evasion tickets. At the age of 19, P. was arrested for conspiracy to sell drugs."
Stop. Think about it.
The amount of money spent on housing people in jail compared to the actual cost of the crime they committed is completely unbalanced. A January article posted on San Francisco Citizen states that "the cost per inmate is $170,000 to $230,000 per year." These stats are for state prison inmates, those who have committed serious crimes like murder and major drug trafficking as well as white collar crimes like embezzlement and insurance fraud. (Though white collar criminals usually end up in kush low-security prisons fitted with flat screens and recliners.) On a county level, the cost to house an inmate in the San Francisco County Jail runs between $100-$250 a day, depending on the inmates health needs.
Did these people deserve to be put in jail for their actions? What would you do if you had no job, no home, no family or friends? How would you survive? When I was first interviewed for the job, my interviewer asked, "What do you think is the leading cause of crime in San Francisco?" The answer? Poverty. Not just here in the City but in every urban environment. I met a client once who was rearrested within 24 hours of being released from county jail. He had no money and had nothing to eat, so what did he do? He walked into a liquor store and lifted a sandwich and a bag of chips. Boom, back in custody.
Meanwhile, drive-by shooters in the Tenderloin are escaping down a ONE WAY BRIDGE to the East Bay and 24 port-a-potties have been set on fire with the suspect still at large.
What exactly is the San Francisco Police Department focusing on here?
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