SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — At a latest San Francisco Police Fee assembly, San Francisco Police Chief Invoice Scott mentioned two weeks of arrest knowledge from the crackdown on open-air drug use within the Tenderloin exhibits that of the 45 drug customers arrested, solely three individuals had been residents of San Francisco.
Chief Scott mentioned he’s not fairly certain what to make of that.
“I can provide some anecdotal solutions,” Scott mentioned. “I’ve talked to individuals and requested them why they selected to do it right here. I’ve gotten solutions like, ‘medication are low cost and available, and you bought an atmosphere the place it’s permitted.’”
“So what that tells us is that we’ve develop into a magnet, a regional magnet, and perhaps even a nationwide magnet,” mentioned San Francisco drug restoration advocate Tom Wolf.
It’s one thing that Wolf says he has been making an attempt to get SF metropolis leaders to acknowledge, one thing that he views as a key side of the town’s drug drawback.
“The trail that we’ve taken the previous few years the place it’s form of like the place we’re trying the opposite means at individuals utilizing medication on the road has despatched a sign, and also you see the outcomes,” mentioned Wolf. “Now we’ve got hundreds of individuals on the road who usually are not from her utilizing medication out within the open, and so they’re doing every kind of stuff together with breaking the legislation to assist their addictions.”
San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey thinks the town is taking the mistaken strategy to deal with the drug disaster. He despatched an announcement that reads partially:
“Arresting street-level sellers and substance customers does nothing to finish the provision or demand of medicine, and incarceration really will increase the probability of overdoses. A public well being response that features overdose prevention facilities is what consultants say would be the solely efficient resolution.”
Wolf, a Tenderloin resident and recovering addict who has been arrested for drug use, says he’s cautiously optimistic that Mayor London Breed’s drug use detention program might ship a special sign to these wanting to return to San Francisco to do medication.
“They only can’t come out right here for a month or two after which depart,” he mentioned.
