San Francisco Voters Approve Ballot Measure Proposition E on Police Policies and Public Safety
San Francisco Voters Approve Ballot Measure Proposition E on Police Policies and Public Safety
San Francisco voters empowered their police department by approving Ballot Measure Proposition E, endorsed by Mayor London Breed, to administer police policies and direct public safety in the city.
What a difference a day makes!
In a surprising move that may mark the most significant impact of this past Super Tuesday, San Francisco voters approved ballot measures Proposition E and Proposition F. Simply put, Proposition E restores key authorities to the governance of the police department.
News outlet KRON reports: “In addition to expanding the use of drones and limiting desk time for officers, Prop E allows for use of body camera footage to satisfy reporting requirements and allows the installation of surveillance and facial recognition cameras without approval from the police commission or board of supervisors.” (The text of Prop E is listed in the references.)
The seven member police commission, an oversight body, previously developed and approved all policies for the police department, including a paperwork burden documenting all citizen encounters and so-called uses of force. (Maybe a third were actual uses of force but there is now no way to know for sure.) These actions generated so much useless data that the volume corrupted the potential for any actionable analysis to be generated.
A great day for San Francisco
The reaction was wild and strong. National Review reported “Progressivism is out—for now,” the San Francisco Chronicles’ website read in bold letters on Wednesday morning, “Voters make it clear: S.F. can no longer be called a progressive city.”
I agree with the political analysts that many of the voters who approved Propositions E and F still see themselves as progressives. The condition of the city had degraded to the point that necessitated a course correction. Proposition F requires those seeking county financial assistance to be drug tested and funds are withheld if treatment options are rejected.
The opposition remains
While these events provide reasons for cautious hope for San Francisco and the Bay Area, there are still well funded opponents who fought against Propositions E and F. Opponents, including the American Civil Liberties Union, raised a little over $200,000.
They invested in misinformation regarding drones, pursuits and facial recognition technology. One media outlet used the reckless title: “Facial recognition drones, more police pursuits approved by San Francisco voters.” Another left leaning outlet made the inflammatory yet false statement, “The wide-ranging measure would loosen restrictions put on police use of surveillance technology in 2019 and allow police to use drones in high-speed chases, among other things." Completely not true.
The world prospers from the ingenuity of Silicon Valley, yet even there, the incubator of these technologies, the reality is the reliable widespread use of these options are years or decades away. The creation of a surveillance state should concern us all, but for the time being, San Francisco Police Department officers will now be addressing the deadly humanitarian crisis on the sidewalks. They will be making San Francisco a safer city.
Will the leadership gap persist?
While I celebrate this response by voters, the key test faced by officers is not police surveillance capabilities, but their leadership’s commitment to support them with the challenges the city has faced for years. Will Chief Bill Scott and his supporting command staff stand up for the officers or will they bow to the prevailing political pressures? Will the ballot measure by Mayor London Breed amount to a commitment to public safety?
It’s a real concern, but today, we celebrate!
Please keep all the Bay Area cops in your prayers.
References:
https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/05/san-francisco-voters-election-prop-e-results-police/
https://www.kron4.com/news/propositions-e-and-f-appear-poised-to-pass-in-san-francisco/
The bill was also supported by the San Francisco Republican Party. It was opposed by the San Francisco Democratic Party and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.
https://voterguide.sfelections.org/local-ballot-measures/measure-e
Shall the City allow the Police Department to hold community meetings before the Police Commission can change policing policies, reduce recordkeeping and reporting requirements for police officers, set new policies for police officers to report use-of-force incidents and to engage in vehicle pursuits, authorize the Police Department to use drones and install public surveillance cameras without further approval, and authorize the Police Department to use new surveillance technology unless the Board of Supervisors disapproves?
A definite step in the right direction, though it's unfortunate that the city had to experience demise to get to this point. You're correct about being cautiously optimistic. There will always be factions, including well-funded ones, that will advocate for chaos. BTW, the ACLU has also publicly denounced the Protect & Serve Act.