San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has introduced the creation of a police process pressure directed at patrolling downtown’s main public areas.
The San Francisco Police Division Hospitality Activity Pressure is one other part of the brand new administration’s effort to deal with public security, which Lurie had previewed throughout his mayoral marketing campaign.
The duty pressure will present an elevated police presence, commit devoted sources to the hassle, and work straight with companies and resorts, based on a press launch from the mayor’s workplace.
The duty pressure will focus its efforts on areas across the Moscone Conference Heart, Yerba Buena Gardens and Union Sq.. The plan comes simply greater than per week earlier than the NBA All-Star Weekend involves the Chase Heart and elsewhere within the metropolis from Feb. 14-16 and with Lunar New Yr actions deliberate all through the month.
San Francisco Police Division headquarters at 1245 Third St. on July 24, 2021. (Dan McMenamin/Bay Metropolis Information)
It comes because the mayor has sought to make good on guarantees to make an pressing impression on the town’s sagging downtown space, which has been the slowest to get better from the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with different main American cities, based on metropolis information, and has seen excessive profile crimes just like the capturing of a San Francisco 49ers soccer participant in September 2024.
Along with the hospitality process pressure, Lurie has sought to deal with open air drug markets on Sixth Road within the South of Market neighborhood by organising a cellular police command put up.
He additionally launched an ordinance to deal with what he has deemed a fentanyl emergency within the metropolis that can enable the town to hurry up the method for finalizing contracts for brand new shelters and fentanyl therapy suppliers, new behavioral well being initiatives and make hires for associated positions. The ordinance, which additionally allowed the town to boost personal funds to pay for fentanyl treatment-related makes use of, handed the Board of Supervisors 10-1 on Tuesday.
“The Hospitality Task Force will break down siloes to increase the police presence across the areas that drive our city’s economy — not just during large conferences but 365 days a year,” Lurie stated.
“With a safe, bustling downtown, we will attract businesses, shoppers, tourists, and conventions — creating jobs, generating revenue, and helping us provide better services for everyone in San Francisco,” he stated.
FILE: Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at his inauguration ceremony in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (Alise Maripuu/Bay Metropolis Information)
The plan entails stationing specialised officers in closely trafficked purchasing and customer areas, which can present extra police presence and permit the division to “surge” models to the place they’re wanted with faster response instances, based on the mayor’s press launch.
The duty pressure will present a police presence for not less than 20 hours per day to these areas.
Police will even contact companies and resorts to raised assess their wants and supply safety for conference goers and vacationers.
San Francisco Police Chief Invoice Scott stated in an announcement that the duty pressure will enable officers to be extra centered on cleansing up in style downtown areas whereas coordinating with different businesses.
Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Sq. Alliance, a business-focused nonprofit that helps handle Union Sq., stated that extra devoted sources to wash up downtown may spur a cycle of rejuvenation for the town and its residents.
“To be a world-class city, we need a safe downtown,” Rodriguez stated. “Our hospitality zone is the heart of San Francisco — our iconic city center where the cable cars run, where visitors from around the world stay in over 20,000 hotel rooms. This is the image of San Francisco that people take home with them,” she stated.
