Deliver Smart Justice

Relying on jails and prison as the first or only mechanism to achieve safety is fiscally irresponsible and doesn’t actually make us more safe in the long run. San Francisco recognized this long ago and has led the nation in pioneering new approaches that move away from our over-reliance on incarceration and instead prioritize rehabilitation, alternatives to incarceration, and other diversion programs that address the root causes of crime. But we still have much more work to do.  While some cases will require serious accountability, there are many more cases where we can leverage smart justice strategies that are cost-effective and lead to better results in ending cycles of crime. In this day and age, data and technology is critical to charting paths toward safety as well as identifying and addressing racial disparities in our criminal justice system.  We also know that exposure to trauma is a public health crisis and when untreated, becomes a public safety problem. We should be learning from survivors of crime and recognize the impact of trauma and its connection to safety.

• Work collaboratively with our City  leaders – with Mayor London Breed on addressing homelessness, City Attorney Dennis Herrera to seek conservatorship for those with severe mental illness who are unable to care for themselves, with our school system to ensure trauma is identified and addressed early, with our public health system to expand access to drug treatment and care for people struggling with mental illness, with business leaders to expand employment pipelines, and so much more
• Work with Governor Gavin Newsom to end the incarceration of children as we know it  
• Expand diversion programs for both youth and adults
• Modernize the DA’s office to use technology as a means of preventing crime, bolstering transparency and accountability, and confronting and solving the racial impacts of the criminal justice system

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