San Francisco’s Democratic mayor backed a Republican effort to reform a controversial law that made it easier for criminals to get away with theft and drug crimes.
Mayor London Breed on Thursday supported a measure called the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Retail Theft Reduction Act, the Los Angeles Times.
The measure aims to reform Proposition 47, a law passed nearly ten years ago by voters, which made some “non-violent” property crimes and “simple” drug possession crimes misdemeanors.
The law has been blamed for the increase in retail theft seen in the Bay Area and the rapid return of brazen thieves to the streets.
“In San Francisco, we are making progress on property crimes, but the challenges we face related to fentanyl and organized retail theft require real change in our state laws,” Breed said.
“I fully support this measure and know it will make a significant difference for California cities.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed backed a Republican effort to reform a controversial law that made it easier for criminals to get away with robberies and drug crimes.
Proposition 47, a law passed nearly ten years ago by voters, made some “nonviolent” property crimes and “simple” drug possession crimes misdemeanors. In September, brazen thieves robbed a Chanel store in the Bay Area
The proposed reform will increase penalties for fentanyl traffickers and repeat participants in organized retail theft rings, in addition to providing mandatory treatment for drug users.
Breed’s endorsement comes as he runs for re-election and faces a low approval rating amid rising crime in his city.
The law made some nonviolent property crimes, worth no more than $950, misdemeanors. He also converted some simple drug possession offenses into misdemeanors, according to the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Law Office.
In San Francisco, robberies increased 14.6 percent and motor vehicle thefts increased 6 percent in 2023, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
While some statistics, such as human trafficking, arson and robberies, have improved in recent months, January also saw a sharp increase of 50 percent in homicides and 27.3 percent in rapes in San Francisco compared to the previous year.
crime tracker neighborhood explorer ranks San Francisco as safer than just one percent of U.S. neighborhoods and has a burglary rate 4.5 times the national average.
In a new development in recent years, stores across the city, such as CVS, have been forced to keep items locked behind security glass due to a high number of thefts and shoplifting incidents.
The city’s property theft rate is more than 3.1 times higher than the national average, and burglaries and motor vehicle thefts are also more than 2.7 percent higher than the U.S. average. .
In a Bay Area robbery in September, brazen thieves, a trio of masked men dressed all in black, looted a Chanel store in the Bay Area. The brutes were seen entering the store and grabbing bags, backpacks and wallets from the shelves while a terrified cashier said: “Oh my God.”
They then ran off and one of the thieves fell to the ground, while shoppers screamed and others shouted ‘Catch them!’
It came amid a series of flash robbery mobs in California, which previously targeted Nordstrom Rack, Nike and Versace.
Footprint store owner Michael Hsu said his store recently had $20,000 in merchandise and damages stolen.
Drugs have also been a growing problem with people posting photos and videos online of filthy, homeless people on the streets of San Francisco.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported that there were 806 overdose deaths in the city in 2023, of which nearly 80 percent involved fentanyl.
Crime and filth in the city of Golden Gate have forced businesses and citizens to flee, causing a “doom cycle,” referring to the decline of a city when tax revenues fall as residents and businesses flee. they go, causing income to decline in a downward spiral.
In August, the area’s flagship Nordstrom closed after three decades in business, while other notable closures include Whole Foods, CB2, Anthropologie and more.
The San Francisco Center, once a thriving shopping center that housed America’s largest Nordstrom, is a shadow of its former self after a series of high-profile departures.
Staff and shoppers at the mall, where five more stores closed in January, told DailyMail.com that crime and falling foot traffic are blighting the palatial building.
Crime and filth in the city of Golden Gate have forced businesses and citizens to flee, causing a “doom cycle,” referring to the decline of a city when tax revenues fall as residents and businesses flee. they go, causing income to decline in a downward spiral.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported that there were 806 overdose deaths in the city in 2023, of which nearly 80 percent involved fentanyl.
Downtown San Francisco has seen a staggering number of businesses flee since the pandemic, citing lax policing, rampant homelessness, and disgusting open-air drug use to force them to close their businesses.
Accounting giant KPMG, which announced earlier this month that it will abandon its eponymous $400 million building in the city center.
Statistics show the city could lose $200 million a year in revenue due to its business exodus, which has caused large hotels and retailers to leave the city center.
Retail stalwart Old Navy announced it would close its flagship store in the area in October, after Nordstrom also announced it would close all of its locations in the city.
In April, Whole Foods announced it would close all of its locations, and Anthropologie and Office Depot also made the same decisions, leading some analysts to predict that the city had entered a “doom cycle” of permanent decline.