Archive
Though there is a lot of crime in San Francisco, by most measures it is lower than it was a few years ago, and much lower on a per capita basis than in most other major cities. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)
Crime is too high in San Francisco.
That sentence is both axiomatically true and substantively meaningless. Crime is always too high because one murder a year in San Francisco would still be one murder too many.
The truth is that there is still a lot of crime in San Francisco, but by most measures, crime, particularly violent crime, is lower than it was a few years ago, and much lower on a per capita basis than in most other major cities.
Despite this, there is a powerful movement afoot to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
So, as the June 7 recall approaches, the district attorney faces a recall attempt due to a crime wave that doesn’t really exist and that — if it did exist — would be due to factors such as The City not having enough police, the opioid epidemic and the rising cost of living in the Bay Area, all of which are beyond Boudin’s control. To state the obvious, the recall attempt is about politics, not crime.
The easiest way to understand these politics is as a battle between moderates and progressives in San Francisco.
But recalling Boudin is not a moderate position. It is a reactionary one — an attempt to overturn an election and push out a district attorney who, while clearly progressive, does not exactly stand out among big city district attorneys in the third decade of the 21st century.
Boudin presents as more of a left-wing outlier than he is. It is true that no other big city DA has Boudin’s radical lineage. His mother, Kathy Boudin, who was a member of the group Weather Underground, was incarcerated due to her role in the robbery of a Brinks Security truck by Weather Underground and the Black Liberation Army that resulted in the death of a security guard and two police officers. In addition to her own activities, Kathy Boudin was the daughter of a progressive attorney who represented the Cuban government and Paul Robeson. Kathy Boudin died of cancer earlier this month.
In effect, Chesa Boudin is American progressive royalty. So it is no surprise conservative groups and individuals cannot abide him. But the days when the DA was tough on crime and always sided with police are over in America — and Boudin is a reflection of that.
In major cities across the country, progressive prosecutors are remaking the job of district attorney in much the way Boudin is. For example, Manhattan’s new DA, Alvin Bragg, sent a memo to his staff on his first day on the job instructing them to explore alternatives to incarceration and cut back on pretrial incarceration to avoid sending youths to adult courts. Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Brooklyn are among the places that have, or have had, prosecutors well to the left of Bragg who share Boudin’s approach to the job.
If voters recall Boudin, San Francisco would be placed well to the right of many American cities and counties on issues of criminal justice and, indeed, civil rights. It would also be a signal that San Francisco’s drift rightward has accelerated.
This would be a big symbolic victory for the right, celebrated at Fox News and in conservative San Francisco circles. However, a successful recall would do little to decrease crime. Boudin’s successor might push for longer sentences and prosecute more people who are arrested, but given that Boudin’s prosecution rates are pretty much in line with most of his predecessors, crime rates would be only very marginally impacted.
Reminder: you're imagining the designating shitting streets, robberies, murders, and tweakers.
Though there is a lot of crime in San Francisco, by most measures it is lower than it was a few years ago, and much lower on a per capita basis than in most other major cities. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)
Crime is too high in San Francisco.
That sentence is both axiomatically true and substantively meaningless. Crime is always too high because one murder a year in San Francisco would still be one murder too many.
The truth is that there is still a lot of crime in San Francisco, but by most measures, crime, particularly violent crime, is lower than it was a few years ago, and much lower on a per capita basis than in most other major cities.
Despite this, there is a powerful movement afoot to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
So, as the June 7 recall approaches, the district attorney faces a recall attempt due to a crime wave that doesn’t really exist and that — if it did exist — would be due to factors such as The City not having enough police, the opioid epidemic and the rising cost of living in the Bay Area, all of which are beyond Boudin’s control. To state the obvious, the recall attempt is about politics, not crime.
The easiest way to understand these politics is as a battle between moderates and progressives in San Francisco.
But recalling Boudin is not a moderate position. It is a reactionary one — an attempt to overturn an election and push out a district attorney who, while clearly progressive, does not exactly stand out among big city district attorneys in the third decade of the 21st century.
Boudin presents as more of a left-wing outlier than he is. It is true that no other big city DA has Boudin’s radical lineage. His mother, Kathy Boudin, who was a member of the group Weather Underground, was incarcerated due to her role in the robbery of a Brinks Security truck by Weather Underground and the Black Liberation Army that resulted in the death of a security guard and two police officers. In addition to her own activities, Kathy Boudin was the daughter of a progressive attorney who represented the Cuban government and Paul Robeson. Kathy Boudin died of cancer earlier this month.
In effect, Chesa Boudin is American progressive royalty. So it is no surprise conservative groups and individuals cannot abide him. But the days when the DA was tough on crime and always sided with police are over in America — and Boudin is a reflection of that.
In major cities across the country, progressive prosecutors are remaking the job of district attorney in much the way Boudin is. For example, Manhattan’s new DA, Alvin Bragg, sent a memo to his staff on his first day on the job instructing them to explore alternatives to incarceration and cut back on pretrial incarceration to avoid sending youths to adult courts. Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Brooklyn are among the places that have, or have had, prosecutors well to the left of Bragg who share Boudin’s approach to the job.
If voters recall Boudin, San Francisco would be placed well to the right of many American cities and counties on issues of criminal justice and, indeed, civil rights. It would also be a signal that San Francisco’s drift rightward has accelerated.
This would be a big symbolic victory for the right, celebrated at Fox News and in conservative San Francisco circles. However, a successful recall would do little to decrease crime. Boudin’s successor might push for longer sentences and prosecute more people who are arrested, but given that Boudin’s prosecution rates are pretty much in line with most of his predecessors, crime rates would be only very marginally impacted.
Reminder: you're imagining the designating shitting streets, robberies, murders, and tweakers.
