“To Determine the Extent and Cost of the Enforcement of ‘ Quality of Life’ Ordinances
Against Homeless Individuals in San Francisco during the Newsom Administration (January 2004-March 2008).”
SOURCES OF DATA FOR OUR STUDY
The documents we reviewed for this study were from the following city departments and various offices within these departments:
We want to emphasize that there is no budget line item for the expenses related to the enforcement of "quality of life" ordinances against homeless people in any of the affected departmental budgets. So until last year when Religious Witness conducted our unprecedented study, there was a lack of awareness within those departments, among elected officials, and certainly by the general public as to the spiraling costs of this enforcement policy.
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The final figures of our study are derived exclusively from our meticulous
study of the documents provided by the City Departments and the Courts.
Religious Witness conducted this study professionally and with integrity.
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The cost related to a ‘quality of life’ citation can become extremely expensive, depending on how far they are carried through the judicial system. Once a homeless person is issued a citation for a “quality of life” violation, a sequence of events unfolds involving more and more personnel from the various divisions of the criminal justice system. That includes police officers, police legal, police clerks, court commissioners, and court deputies. Then there’s scheduling, copying, filing, data entry, testifying, booking, reporting, and completing voluminous forms.
Tens of thousands of citations have been issued in this past 4½ years, and 80% of all citations are dismissed at some point or other in the system.
When the District Attorney and the Public Defender are involved in prosecuting/defending misdemeanors, the expense at least doubles because these individuals are on the City payroll. Also, the court costs are much higher… and the person is more likely to be arrested, booked and jailed.
In the past, the District Attorney’s office staffed only Misdemeanor Court. However, now Kamala Harris’ office is staffing the Infraction Courts. That means that highly paid attorneys are prosecuting ‘quality of life’ infraction citations. So we can anticipate even greater expense related to future citations as long as The City continues on this path.
Cumulative Total to Date:
$9,847,027
In SF taxpayer dollars spent...So Far
56,567
"Quality of Life" Citations Issued...So Far