San Francisco's 'very aggressive' move against homeless as mayor Breed warns the time for compassion is over

The fed up Mayor of San Francisco has said the time for compassion is over as she announced plans to tackle the city's homeless crisis which has left locals fearing for their safety. 

Mayor London Breed revealed the city is set to take a 'very aggressive' approach to remove encampments from the streets which have blighted the City by the Bay for the past four years.

Certain parts of the city, including the troubled Tenderloin district have become known for their squalor and misery, becoming so bad that local businesses unable to recruit staff and residents have felt forced to flee. 

The rise in the number of homeless, now about 8,300 people, has brought with it a myriad of other associated problems filling the sidewalks with illegal drug dealers, fentanyl users and all round violent and intimidating behavior close to the tent encampments. 

'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 on Thursday in a change of tack on the issue. 

'We are going to be very aggressive and assertive in moving encampments which may even include criminal penalties,' she explained with the 'sweeps' scheduled to begin in less than two weeks once staff are retrained to follow new legal guidance.

Her comments come just three weeks after the  Supreme Court granted cities the power to evict unhoused people from encampments.

'The problem is not going to be solved by building more housing,' Breed said. 'Thank goodness for the Supreme Court decision.'

In December 2022, a federal magistrate judge prevented the city of San Francisco from clearing homeless tents although it was not banned from sweeping encampments.

The judge ordered city officials to stop forcing homeless people from public camping sites unless they have been offered appropriate shelter indoors. 

Officials were also prevented from issuing citations or arresting people who refused to move.

But now the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling bestows more power to the city in assisting with the clearing, officials plan to offer shelter and support to help those affected. 

The case was the most significant on the issue to come before the high court in decades and comes as cities across the country have wrestled with the politically complicated issue of how to deal with a rising number of people without a permanent place to live and public frustration over related health and safety issues. 

'We will continue to lead with services, but we also can't continue to allow people to do what they want on the streets of San Francisco, especially when we have a place for them to go,' Breed said. 

In San Francisco, homeowners, businesses and local leaders have become frustrated with visible signs of homelessness — which includes public streets blocked by sprawling tents and trash. 

The crime-ridden downtown area has seen the closure of many shops and restaurants since its drastic downfall, despite Breed attempting to hype statistics claiming offenses went down in 2023.

In October 2023, it was reported that seven Starbucks stores were planning to close as the city continues to deal with crime, drug use, and homelessness.

At the end of August 2023, video was released showing San Francisco's newly shut-down flagship Nordstrom store that was almost barren after nearly three decades in business.

Homeless people congregate downtown, pushing their possessions in shopping carts or sitting on duffle bags, awaiting city services such as referrals for shelter, food or clothing, or mental health and substance abuse treatment. 

Breed says that she hopes to 'clear them all' but provided no concrete details on how she plans to achieve such a goal. It will likely require the backup of the police. 

The city calculates its homeless figures every three months and at the end of the last count in April 2024, a 41 percent reduction was noted compared to July 2023. 

There were 360 tents and structures counted in April - down from 610 last summer and 385 during February's count. 

It is the lowest figure the city has recorded since it began tracking the data in 2018.  

Breed says the reduction has come about as a result of a number of factors, not least the police enforcement of anti-camping laws when homeless people have reasonable access to shelter accommodation. 

A ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in September 2022 found that city's (in general) violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment if homeless people are punished for sleeping on public property or using blankets and pillows to protect themselves from the elements.

But in earlier this month, a 9th Circuit panel ordered the injunction against clearing the encampments to be lifted.

City workers will still have to 'bag and tag' any property collected from those who are homeless. 

Breed is in a tough reelection contest this November, when she faces three serious challengers who say her administration has failed to address homelessness, encampments or the open-air drug market. 

Amid rising rents and a national shortage of affordable housing, more than 100,000 people are living on California's streets. 

Hawaii, Oregon, and Arizona are among other western states where more homeless people live outside in cars and tents than indoors in shelters, despite billions spent to curb homelessness, including San Francisco's $672 million annual budget.  

The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom in San Francisco is $3,000. 

Advocates say that many people who are homeless would rather stay outdoors than in shelters, where they risk encountering abuse or threats of violence. 

Homeless people who have pets, work night shifts, need mental health services, or have substance use disorders have a difficult time finding a shelter that will take them.