A new SF: Mayor Breed kicks off more vigorous clearing of dangerous homeless encampments, paired with services and shelter
Image by Wikimedia Commons
A statement from the mayor’s office said the city’s “street response will consist of offers of support on a daily basis, targeted encampment resolutions, and coordinated efforts to prevent re-encampments and new areas from being encamped.” The exceptional SF Standard reports.
“Very aggressive” homeless encampment sweeps, as recently touted by Mayor London Breed, began Tuesday morning in San Francisco following a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The Standard witnessed aggressive enforcement action under the Central Freeway, carried out by police, the Department of Public Works, Department of Emergency Management, Homeless Outreach Team and San Francisco Fire Department.
Brandon Cunningham, the fire department’s incident commander said the Healthy Streets Operation Center, a multi-agency team that conducts encampment clearings, finished its scheduled morning operation early — so the team of officials decided to begin moving down 13th Street to continue clearing encampments.
“We’re trying to utilize the time that we had … instead of twiddling our thumbs for the next three hours,” Cunningham said. “We’re doing the general area.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Emergency Management said everyone was offered shelter during Tuesday’s action.
The actions taken by the city likely stem from a routine court procedure finalized Tuesday. At the beginning of the month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a local injunction that limited how aggressive the city could be in its sweeps, part of a lawsuit filed in 2022 by the Coalition on Homelessness. The appeals court overturned the injunction as a direct result of the Supreme Court’s decision which allows cities more power to clear encampments. On Tuesday, the appeals officially modified the injunction to be in line with June’s SCOTUS ruling.
A statement from the mayor’s office said the city’s “street response will consist of offers of services and support on a daily basis, targeted encampment resolutions, and coordinated efforts to prevent re-encampments and new areas from being encamped.
In a memo shared Tuesday by the mayor’s office, officials said they seek to prevent encampments from cropping up again once they have been cleared.
“District [police] station officers will conduct regular canvases of the areas to identify any encampments, and then work with Public Works staff to clear the areas,” the memo reads.
The memo also outlines the consequences homeless individuals may face if they continue to camp on the city’s streets and refuse shelter. These penalties include citations and possible arrest.
“The goal is not punishment, it is compliance,” the memo reads.
Read the whole thing here.
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