Post-Grant's Pass, SF to change direction, get "very aggressive" re: homeless encampment sweeps
Depicted: San Francisco Mayor London Breed. Image by Wikimedia Commons.
SF's Mayor London Breed said the troubled suburb to the north will launch a much more vigorous crackdown on homeless encampments beginning next month. "Thank goodness for the Supreme Court," Breed said, re: SCOTUS' Grant's Pass decision. Maggie Angst at the Chronicle reports.
The mayor’s comments — made Thursday during an election debate hosted by the firefighters union — come about three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court granted cities broad power to evict unhoused people from encampments.
“We are going to be very aggressive and assertive in moving encampments which may even include criminal penalties,” Breed said. “The problem is not going to be solved by building more housing,” Breed added. “Thank goodness for the Supreme Court decision.”
Breed said the city has had to move from a compassionate approach to one focused on accountability. Long-term issues will not be solved by “just building housing and shelter,” she added. She said the city would start the sweeps in August because it needs time to retrain workers to follow the new legal guidance.
Since December 2022, a federal magistrate judge has prohibited San Francisco from enforcing certain laws to clear homeless tents. Although it did not ban the city from sweeping encampments, it prevented officials from citing or arresting people who refused to move in violation of six city laws. The city still increased sweeps during that time by enforcing other rules.
One of Breed’s rivals in the mayor’s race, former Supervisor and interim Mayor Mark Farrell, attacked her on social media after the debate, questioning why she didn’t have a plan in place from the first day after the Supreme Court decision.
But in fact, after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Breed said city officials would continue to offer shelter and support to the homeless population but that law enforcement would probably be more involved moving forward. Breed stated at that time that she hoped to “clear them all” but did not detail when or how.
“We have had to move from a compassionate city to a city of accountability, and I have been leading the efforts to ensure that we are addressing this issue differently than we have before,” Breed said Thursday.
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