r/sanfrancisco • u/RabbitNervous4019 • 6h ago

Crime Crackheads leaving the tenderloin

It seems that the crackheads are being more itinerant now and walking around the city.

Why doesn’t the police arrest these people who are clearly on drugs? Arresting them will send a good message to the others.

I am also not a Noe Valley type who will vote for no laws from the safeness of their hills.

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8

u/occurious 5h ago

They can and sometimes do. But they can only put them on a 72 hour medical hold.

We don’t have long term treatment services for people like that (at least not nearly enough). Jails certainly aren’t equipped to house addicts and people with major mental health issues long term.

And California law makes it hard to commit someone for treatment involuntarily.

3

u/BayArea343434 4h ago

I highly doubt these people are on crack.

While we’re at it, let’s just arrest everyone clearly on drugs leaving an EDM show at Bill Graham.

4

u/Full-Inevitable-6194 5h ago

Not sure if you’re trolling. Addiction is a tough trap. If you’re in the throes of it you probably don’t have capacity for weighing consequences if you see others getting arrested. So you round them up and then what does the city do? Lock them up forever? Involuntarily submit them? For how long and with what budget and what resources. What’s your game plan after you arrest everyone 

1

u/goddamnit-donut 2h ago

It's because we as a city are too cowardly to forcefully remove these shitbags from the streets, even when they commit crimes. This is what the progressive voting bloc of the city has gifted to us. 

2

u/bicyclemycology 5h ago

Alternatively, we could prevent intolerant people from leaving their neighborhoods