(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) San Francisco Police Chief William Scott (right)  and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins during a press conference  after announcing arrest of a suspect in Bob Lee murder Apr. 13, 2023.  

By   Gary   Raynaldo     –   DIPLOMATIC   TIMES   CORRESPONDENT

SAN   FRANCISCO     –     The San Francisco  Police Department has seized a record 123 kilograms of illegal narcotics in the City’s drug-plagued Tenderloin district  this year.   Fentanyl accounted for more than half of illegal drugs confiscated there, the SFPD reported Friday.  According to Police Chief William Scott, the record haul surpassed the total amount of drugs seized in all of 2022.  Tenderloin Station officers have arrested 533 people for selling narcotics so far in 2023, nearly surpassing the 566 total arrests for narcotics sales in all of 2022, Chief Scott said in a statement. 

“I want to thank our officers for their incredible work. We are committed to getting these drugs off our streets, and we are holding these dealers accountable. San Francisco should be a safe place for residents, businesses, and visitors to enjoy. Together with our partner agencies, we are making a difference in our downtown corridor.” 

-San Francisco Police Chief William Scott

In May, California Governor Gavin Newsome launched a public safety partnership between San Francisco and the state  including California Highway Patrol, the California National Guard, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice  with the goal of targeting fentanyl trafficking  and narcotics dealers to disrupt the supply of the deadly drug in the City by the Bay. 

(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins (at podium) provides an update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee during a press conference  after announcing arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023.  SF Mayor London Breed (left) also attended press briefing.  Mayor Breed and DA Jenkins staunchly support the high-profile  crackdown on open-air drug use and dealing in Tenderloin, vowing that people will be arrested for being visibly intoxicated and/or in possession of illegal drugs.

SF Mayor London Breed has made enforcement in the Tenderloin a top priority for her administration.    

“I applaud the San Francisco Police Department and all of our public safety partners for their focused work to get fentanyl and other drugs plaguing our communities off the streets,” Mayor Breed said.   Chief Scott said  SFPD officers have been increasing patrols, buy-busts, warrant operations, and larger narcotics investigations, leading to more deadly drugs being taken off the streets amid an ongoing overdose crisis in San Francisco.  Fentanyl deaths in San Francisco have surged this year.  In May, 63 people died, the most deaths in any month since the city’s medical examiner started tracking overdose deaths in January 2020. 

Critics Say SFPD Drug Crackdowns Mostly Target African Americans, Hispanic For Arrest

(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times )  San Francisco Police patrol in the City’s  Tenderloin district.

(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) San Francisco Police Chief William Scott (at podium)  flanked by Mayor Breed and  DA Jenkins during a press conference  after announcing arrest of a suspect in Bob Lee murder Apr. 13, 2023.  

However,  many law enforcement critics have expressed skepticism of stepping up arrests to deal with the city’s drug overdose problem. 

Another Failed “War on Drugs” in San Francisco?

America’s contemporary so-called “War on Drugs” of past 50 years mainly targeted Blacks and resulted in wholesale incarceration of millions of them without reducing the supply and demand for narcotics. Many see the same scenario repeating itself in San Francisco now. 

SF Supervisor Dean Preston, whose district includes the Tenderloin neighborhood, criticized Mayor Breed recently,  pointing to a Department of Public Health report that discouraged “punitive policies” and noted that Black, Brown and Indigenous communities have long been targeted by drug crackdowns. 

Heavy-handed policing and aggressive prosecution of drug crimes responsible for skyrocketing incarceration rates for African Americans

(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) Police patrol in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.

San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, in particular,  has fiercely criticized DA Jenkins’  arrest/prosecution campaign ever since she took over as the City’s Chief  prosecutor after Chesa Boudin was ousted in a recall vote.

“We cannot arrest, prosecute, and cage our way out of a public health crisis. This is not who we are. In San Francisco, we are a compassionate community, and one that values evidence-based, effective responses to the problems our city faces. We must do better than a return to the destructive and devastating war on drugs. Let’s remember that the war on drugs, which began under Richard Nixon in the 1970s, did nothing to reduce drug use or sales,” 

SF Public Defender Raju said  in accusing DA Jenkins waging war on drugs shortly after she entered office last year -KRON.