Why Prop M will fail.
Anti-panhandling measure a waste of taxpayer money,
and a disservice to the poor.
Plus:
15 YEARS OF FAILURE: 'Quality of life' enforcement in San Francisco
Why Prop M will fail
STREET SHEET, Friday, October 17, 2003
by john viola
Opinion
Proposition M - the Anti-Panhandling Ordinance - purports to outlaw
certain forms of panhandling while diverting "offenders" into social
programs. But all Prop M will really do is criminalize poor people,
violate their First Amendment right to free speech, and waste millions
of dollars imprisoning homeless people for begging.
Prop M's Costly Three Strikes Law Criminalizes the Poor
Prop M provides a "three strike" system, where offenders could be
imprisoned for up to three months. It costs $89 a day to jail a person
in San Francisco. Imprisoning someone who is begging for a few cents
or selling STREET SHEETs is a tremendous waste of public resources.
Because jail time is possible, a person accused of violating Prop M
has a right to a jury trial and legal representation at county
expense. A trial costs up to $25,000 per offense. Our courts, police,
prosecutors, public defenders and jurors have better things to do than
to try people for begging.
These resources should be reserved for dealing with real crime. Prop M
will result in overburdening our already strapped criminal justice
system, and wasting jurors and court time.
Prop M Will Fail to Prevent Panhandling
Prop M will not stop panhandling. San Francisco already has a law to
deter aggressive solicitation. Proponents of M falsely claim the
current law is unenforceable and needs to be replaced. In fact, the
current ordinance has never been challenged and SFPD's standing
General Order 6.08 requires enforcement of the law as written.
The reason why the current law is ineffective is because it does not
solve the root problems of poverty. It is extremely naïve to believe
that by banning certain forms of panhandling, poverty will be cured
and panhandling will stop. For years, San Francisco has tried criminal
prohibitions as a primary response to conditions created by poverty.
These efforts have failed. People panhandle out of desperation.
Prop M offers nothing to abate poverty and therefore will do nothing
to stop panhandling.
Prop M Provides No Services to the Poor and Wastes Taxpayer's Money
Prop M claims that offenders will be diverted into social programs in
lieu of jail. However, it provides no funding for these services.
According to the Controller, the diversion programs proposed under
Prop M will cost $3,700 per person. Assuming that 20 persons each
month were referred to diversion programs, it would cost the City
$900,000 annually.
There are currently not enough services to meet the demand for
programs that will make a difference for panhandlers. Housing
assistance programs have waits of one to five years, just for an
application to be reviewed and quite possibly rejected. Residential
treatment programs have waits of up to thirteen months.
Regardless of whether a single person receives a single service, under
Prop M they can and will be sentenced to fines and jail. This money
could be better spent on education, parks and other essential
services, particularly given that the City will be facing a huge
deficit if the state car tax is repealed. City services will already
be drastically cut; do we really need to spend a million dollars a
year providing more "services" to panhandlers?
Prop M Violates Free Speech
The First Amendment freedom of speech is one of our most treasured
constitutional protections. It protects our right of free expression.
Under Prop M, a person is subject to criminal prosecution based on
content of his or her speech. The ordinance prohibits the simple act
of asking for help in public places (i.e. asking for a quarter for a
parking meter). It threatens free speech for all.
In a day when our basic constitutional rights are under attack by the
Bush administration's Patriot Act, we cannot afford to pass a law that
criminalizes speech and would threaten to suppress the First
Amendment.
Prop M Is a Political Ploy, Not a Real Solution to Poverty
It is important that we do not confuse anger over poverty with real
solutions. Real solutions require food, jobs, employment and housing.
We are facing one of the worst recessions in this country since the
Great Depression.
While we spend $87 billion dollars on the war on Iraq, many Americans
continue to live in poverty. Let's direct outrage about the conditions
of poverty at the social and economic policies that have created these
conditions not at the people who suffer most from them. Scapegoating
of the poorest in our society will solve nothing.
Vote No on Prop M.
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15 YEARS OF FAILURE: 'Quality of life' enforcement in San Francisco
Friday, October 17, 2003
As the numbers of Americans living in poverty and homelessness
continue to spiral upward, very little has been done to correct the
systemic failures of our state and federal governments that created
this crisis. Affordable housing, health care, education and job
development programs have been decimated by pro-business legislators
for most of the past quarter century. And the empty rhetoric of
"personal responsibility" tells us that homeless people themselves are
to blame for their condition.
More and more of us find ourselves homeless or at risk of
homelessness, while programs and services that can effectively reduce
homelessness are cut, even in years of budget surpluses. In this
scenario, San Francisco's policymakers increasingly rely on the one
publicly-funded institution that is never underfunded or lacking
capacity: our criminal justice system.
Instead of providing housing or services, some elected officials
resort to the political expediency of criminalizing behaviors found
among homeless people, and selectively enforcing these laws at the
cost of the homeless individualıs constitutionally-guaranteed civil
rights. The following timeline makes the most compelling argument that
adding police and court costs to the provision of basic homeless
services only makes them more expensive to provide. In addition, court
referrals to treatment would be prioritized at the cost of those
voluntarily seeking such services.
As you read this historical record of institutionalized civil rights
abuses ask yourself: If these so-called Quality of Life laws are so
effective at reducing homelessness, donıt you think San Franciscans
would see some tangible results after 15 years?
Agnos Administration 1988
. Sweeps in Golden Gate Park, Civic Center and Cole Valley 1989
. Mayor Agnos orders Police Chief Frank Jordan to sweep Civic
Center Plaza of the 60-100 people living there.
Jordan Administration 1992
. After the passage of Prop J (put on the ballot by Mayor Jordan),
the City outlaws aggressive panhandling.
. Alvord Lake (part of Golden Gate Park at Haight and Stanyan) was
closed during the evening.
1993
. The Matrix Program began. Between August and December, 5,602
citations are issued to homeless people for Quality of Life offenses.
More citations for sleeping and camping in the parks, drinking in
public, obstructing the sidewalk and sleeping in the doorways were
issued in the first months of Matrix than in the five previous years
combined.
. The Transbay Bus Terminal, home to more than 100 homeless people,
locked its doors to them. A program serving many of the Terminal's
severely mentally ill residents was also shut down.
. Virtually every City park was closed at night by the Rec. and
Park Commission.
. Food Not Bombs began getting arrested for serving food to
homeless people in Civic Center Plaza.
1994
. After the passage of Prop J put on the ballot by Mayor Jordan,
panhandling around ATM machines was prohibited.
. After the passage of Prop V put on the ballot by Mayor Jordan,
all single adult welfare recipients began being fingerprinted.
. "No parking from 2:00am to 6:00am" signs were put up by the Port
Authority on a street in China Basin where most of the Cityıs mobile
residents resided.
. Mayor Jordan declared to the media that there were armed
criminals posing as homeless people and using their shopping carts to
transport weapons. He ordered the SFPD to arrest people in possession
of shopping carts. The people of San Francisco openly express their
outrage at this proposal and no one gets arrested.
. 11,562 citations issued for life-sustaining activities.
1995
. In August, Mayor Jordan planned Matrix II, "Take back our Parks,"
a multi-departmental intensive sweep of Golden Gate Park, and uses it
as a media moment in his mayoral campaign. Homeless people lost
property and were displaced.
. Mayor Jordan ran an unsuccessful ballot measure (Prop M) to
prohibit sitting and lying in commercial districts around the City. ?
14,276 citations were issued for life-sustaining activities.
Brown Administration
1996
. 50 homeless people were evicted from a lot in the Bayview
referred to as "Land of the Lost". The City settled out of court.
. Mayor Brown declares Matrix is over. ? SFPD formed "Operation
Park". 2-6 police officers on each shift were assigned to roust and
cite homeless people in the parks of their district.
. 17,532 citations were issued for life-sustaining activities.
1997
. Massive sweeps of Golden Gate Park began. Mayor Brown asked to
borrow the Oakland Police Dept.'s night vision-equipped helicopter to
locate homeless people illegally sleeping in the park, but was denied.
Homeless people lost property and were displaced from the park.
Homeless people were prohibited by the SFPD and DPW from taking their
property from the park and were told they could retrieve it another
day. Since this time, a special crew of Rec. & Park employees was been
formed and maintained in order to identify and destroy homeless
encampments in parks around the city.
. An encampment between Bayshore and highway 101 was cleared by
Caltrans and the CHP after the 25 residents organized a massive
cleanup. Caltrans created a special unit that sweeps homeless people
and their property from under bridges and highways.
. 15,671 citations issued for life-sustaining activities.
1998
. "No Loitering or Sleeping" signs are placed in public parks
around the city.
. Civic Center Plaza is remodeled, removing the fountain, adding
two children's playgrounds, and the park is cleared of homeless
people. A police officer was assigned to monitor the park.
. A huge encampment was swept across the street from the now
Pacific Bell Park. The residents negotiated with the private property
owner and worked out a plan for residents to vacate the property that
gave them some time. Many residents relocated to the Mission Rock
shelter that opened nearby during the same time. City Outreach workers
helped with the transition.
. The Board of Supervisors made it illegal to drink in parks where
poor people congregate (Round 1).
. The Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance making it possible
for police to cite people for camping and sleeping in UN and Hallidie
Plazas.
. Caltrans did a massive sweep of property under bridges and
highways.
. Castro merchants organized an anti-panhandling campaign called
"Create Change" that urged people to give money to charities, not
panhandlers.
. The District Attorney began a "3 strikes and youıre out" policy
for people found drunk in public.
. 18,590 citations issued for life-sustaining activities.
1999
. Officers from the North Beach District take photographs of
homeless people claiming they were creating a scrapbook. They
distributed copies of the pictures to local merchants ordering them
not to sell alcohol to anyone in the pictures because they were
"habitual drunkards." The City settled the ensuing lawsuit out of
court. The story made Reader's Digest.
. The Rec. and Park Commission made it illegal to drink in parks
where poor people congregate (Round 2).
. An encampment near Battery and Broadway was swept by DPW and a
fence was erected by Caltrans and again, Caltrans did a massive sweep
of property under bridges and highways.
. The Mission Rock shelter is closed. Nearly 45 people documented
that their property was destroyed during the sloppy closure.
. Supervisor Amos Brown introduced anti-panhandling legislation,
calling it the "Pedestrian Safety Act." The Board of Supervisors voted
against it.
. Mayor Brown ordered homeless people to be charged with felonies
if found in possession of a shopping cart. After a week of bad press,
he then claimed he never ordered it.
. 23,871 citations were issued for life-sustaining activities.
2000
. The City Attorney began prosecuting homeless people in traffic
court for Quality of Life offenses. This program cost the city
$250,000 and was a dismal failure in its stated purpose of connecting
homeless people with the services they supposedly refuse.
. A permanent fence is erected around the DPW station at McAllister
and Larkin Streets after our friend Trent is found there dead from an
overdose.
. 17,954 citations were issued for life-sustaining activities.
2001
. UN Plaza starts its remodeling, lawns are closed, the fountain is
shut down. All benches are removed in a midnight attack, costing the
city $24,000 in overtime.
. A large encampment under the Cesar Chavez Circle highway
overpasses was swept by DPW. Property belonging to homeless residents
was videotaped being thrown into the back of a city garbage truck.
After the tape aired on a local news channel, Mayor Brown claimed the
incident was staged by homeless advocates, and the homeless person the
newscrews interviewed was an actor. 75 homeless people were displaced
and many lost property. A fence was erected by Caltrans.
. The District Attorney replaces the City Attorney in traffic court
prosecuting Quality of Life offenses until the new fiscal year began
and such enforcement was taken out of DAıs budget.
. The District Attorney started prosecuting California Penal Code
647(j), a misdemeanor that makes it illegal to lodge on public or
private property. Homeless people begin to spend more time in jail.
. The City spends $30.8 million to incarcerate homeless people.
. 9,134 citations issued for life-sustaining activities.
2002
. A large encampment is swept from Berry Street. 100 homeless
people are displaced and a fence was erected by DPW. The City spent
$13,644 on this sweep not including the costs for the extensive police
presence on the day of the sweep.
. Day Laborers along Cesar Chavez Street began receiving petty
offense tickets from the SFPD in an effort to drive them from the
area.
. DPW started Operation Scrubdown, targeting downtown streets and
alleys. Workers would move homeless encampments then hose down the
area with nasty chemicals making it impossible to return to that spot.
DPW estimated that Operation Scrubdown cost the City $11,000 every
day.
. The Board of Supervisors passed a new law prohibiting urinating
and defecating in public, but no new public bathrooms were opened.
. Three dogs belonging to homeless people were shot by the SFPD
within three months.
. 6,957 citations issued for life-sustaining activities. An
additional 2,035 misdemeanor lodging citations are also issued.
2003
. "No habitating in your vehicle between 10:00pm and 6:00am" signs
are put up in China Basin and Bayview districts.
. Homeless people living and caring for the property behind Laguna
Honda hospital were relocated.
. People accessing City-funded homeless services were required to
be electronically fingerprinted and photographed before receiving any
services.
. Homeless people were swept out of Dolores Park by SFPD. A nearby
drop-in center was closed indefinitely.
. Between January and July, 7004 citations were issued for
life-sustaining activities.
. A homeless man receives 30 days in jail as his sentence for a
lodging citation.
Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco
468 Turk Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 346.3740-voice
(415) 775.5639-fax
streetsheet@sf-homeless-coalition.org
http://www.sf-homeless-coalition.org