Less than 48 hours on the job, San Francisco’s new district attorney fired some of the department’s most experienced prosecutors.
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The Coalition of San Francisco Neighborhoods recently honored Stop Crime SF for its efforts to give residents and victims a voice while making sure police, prosecutors, judges and politicians are doing their jobs to keep us safe. Read the remarks that Stop Crime SF Vice President Joel Engardio gave at the award ceremony.
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An open letter to Chesa Boudin, the public defender who will be San Francisco’s next district attorney and top prosecutor.
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It’s easy to get away with car burglary in San Francisco because of a loophole in state law. Car break-ins can’t be charged as felony theft unless it can be proven that the door was locked. Smart criminals simply unlock the door after smashing the window. No wonder San Francisco’s epidemic of auto burglary has resulted in so few convictions. Yet a bill to fix the loophole has failed twice in Sacramento. It defies explanation why California’s legislature would encourage crime.
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Joel Engardio speaks to KPIX CBS-5 news on behalf of Stop Crime SF to explain why San Franciscans feel unsafe regardless of what crime statistics say. Stop Crime SF is a group of San Franciscans working together to reduce and prevent crime in our neighborhoods while holding public officials and the criminal justice system accountable.
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The brazen and violent attack of a young woman in San Francisco and a judge’s refusal to hold the suspect in custody became a highly publicized case that poses some important questions: How many crime victims without a Twitter account suffer in silence? How do we know which judges care more about the rights of the accused than the victim? And is there anything we can do to get better judges?
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Video of San Francisco District Attorney debate sponsored by Stop Crime SF and moderated by Joel Engardio. Featuring candidates Chesa Boudin, Leif Dautch, Suzy Loftus and Nancy Tung. Be an informed voter and learn where they stand. The stakes are high. San Francisco ranks #1 in property crime among large U.S. cities. The district attorney sets the agenda for what crimes will and won't be prosecuted.
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Here are a few things San Francisco politicians don’t like to talk about: Billions in unfunded pension liabilities, police no longer part of the FBI’s terrorism task force, and not enough water to fight fires after an earthquake (the Westside could be left to burn). The civil grand jury is speaking out — but will anyone listen?
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In San Quentin on a life sentence, Markelle Taylor ran a marathon (105 non-stop loops around the prison yard). Paroled in March, his first act of freedom after 17 years was to finish the Boston Marathon. What’s the next step for Markelle and the inmates still running for their lives on the inside?
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Why should San Francisco allow local press to report the inconvenient truths of Public Defender Jeff Adachi’s death? Because eroding the First Amendment, even slightly or righteously, only makes life more difficult for journalists when we need them to reveal the truths that really matter.
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A funny short story about going to the dentist and fielding a flood of interview requests from the New York Times, AP, Reuters, Forbes, Wired, CNN, NPR, BBC, CBS radio, ABC Channel 7 News, the local papers and news outlets from Australia to Sweden.
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Instead of an outright ban, a moratorium would have been more appropriate. There are problems with facial recognition ID technology and it should not be used today. But the technology will improve and it could be a useful tool for public safety when used responsibly and with greater accuracy. We should keep the door open for that possibility. Especially when facial recognition technology can help locate missing children, people with dementia and fight sex trafficking.
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Amending legislation is a messy process of horse-trading words. One of the amendments in San Francisco’s new video surveillance law is still missing a vital word. Police can receive private security video, but will they be able to use it to solve crimes? Words matter when we have the highest rate of property crime among the nation's largest cities.
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Fighting Big Brother and Big Tech might feel good when privacy is a concern. But a proposed law to ban facial recognition and severely impede San Francisco’s use of security cameras is full of unintended consequences that won’t keep us safe or free.
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If a defendant is re-arrested awaiting a court appearance, the sheriff needs to know. Yet she often doesn’t because San Francisco lacks a fully interconnected criminal justice database that shares information in real time. After 20 years and tens of millions spent, will City Hall ever get it to work?
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Smashed glass on curbs and sidewalks is the new normal in San Francisco with tens of thousands of car break-ins reported annually. Our criminal justice system needs the right incentives for offenders to change their behavior. Lawbreakers need to know they will be held accountable if they violate the terms of probation. And judges need to know citizens are watching. Read the full OpEd published in the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Exactly 42 years after the San Francisco Police Officers Association declared gay people unfit to serve, Tony Montoya became the police union’s first openly gay president. Yet Montoya’s temperament is just as groundbreaking — when compared to the take-no-prisoners approach his predecessors took in local politics. “Our bombastic style doesn’t work anymore. It turns people off,” Montoya said. “I’ll be more thoughtful.”
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District Attorney George Gascon and police Captain Robert Yick discuss the property crime epidemic in San Francisco with Stop Crime SF vice president Joel Engardio on a public safety panel. Solving this complex problem will require every part of the criminal justice system working hard together. Gascon answered many engaging questions from the Westside audience.
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The community meeting I organized for Stop Crime SF led the local TV news on ABC. The epidemic of car break-ins was the topic and state Assemblymember Phil Ting spoke about legislative solutions. Stop Crime SF is a group of San Franciscans working together to reduce and prevent crime in our neighborhoods while holding public officials and the criminal justice system accountable. Join us at www.stopcrimesf.com
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Sometimes a popcorn machine is not just about the popcorn. Residents at a block party didn’t realize their hot, buttery treat was actually a survival test. It’s how Miraloma Park became one of the safest places to be when disaster strikes San Francisco. How does your neighborhood measure up?
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