Cops in San Francisco have arrested 45 people in the past two weeks as the city finally cracks down on drug addicts shooting up in the street.
Democratic Mayor London Breed launched the police operation against open-air drug use across the California city which has been hit with an opioid-fueled crime epidemic.
It comes amid warnings from San Francisco’s police chief Bill Scott that the soft approach to drugs is exacerbating homelessness by drawing vagrants from out of town.
Scott said that of the 45 people busted in the notorious Tenderloin neighborhood in the last 14 days – just three were San Fran residents.
‘I’ve talked to people and asked them why they chose to do it here. I’ve gotten answers like, drugs are cheap and readily available, and you got an environment where it is permitted,’ he told a police commission conference last Wednesday.
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, pictured here, said that the overwhelming majority of the people arrested are not from the city
San Francisco Mayor London Breed launched the crackdown on open air drug use across the city which has been hit with soaring crime rates and high rates
The police chief said that he had spoken to addicts who admitted they moved to the city because ‘drugs are cheap’
There has been an explosion in the number of homeless people – drawn to the city in part by generous assistance programs
The police chief called the statistics on the out-of-towners ‘surprising’ but could only offer anecdotal answers for why more than 90 percent of alleged users were not local.
Recovering addict-turned-activist Tom Wolf told Fox News: ‘Everyone knows that San Francisco kind of takes a hands-off approach to law enforcement.
‘So they know that if they come to San Francisco they can get high, they can probably score a free tent, get money from the government and get food stamps and health insurance all while living on the street for free.
‘The fact of the matter is that San Francisco is a regional magnet for homelessness.
‘We have robust services, everybody leaves you alone, and we have the cheapest drugs in California right here in San Francisco.
‘That all has to change if we want to save the city.’
Latest police data shows criminal activity in the area has increased in some areas across the city – including homicide and robbery.
The two are up 9.5% and 13.2%, while total crime across the city has dropped 5.1% through to last week, compared to the year before.
The latest crime figures come after dozens of retailers announced they would be vacating the downtown area of the city due to high theft rates in the area.
Retail stalwart Old Navy announced they would be shuttering their flagship store in the area last month, becoming the latest chain to exit the city.
It comes after retail giant Nordstrom announced they would be closing all of their locations in the city.
The company said that due to the ‘changing dynamics’ of San Francisco it would be shuttering all remaining stores in the next few months.
In April, Whole Foods announced it was closing all their locations, with Anthropologie and Office Depot having also made the same decisions.
A map reveals the major businesses which have left, or plan to leave, San Francisco in recent months
These stores joined the growing list of stores that have abandoned the coastal city, including H&M, Marshall’s, Gap and Banana Republic.
Whole Foods had opened a new ‘flagship’ location at Trinity Place in the city’s Tenderloin District in March of last year.
The company had hoped to revitalize footfall after two years of COVID-19 restrictions severely impacted business in the area.
A year on and the organic food giant declared they would be closing their store ‘for the time being’ over safety concerns.
A disturbing recent report showed 95 retailers in downtown San Francisco have closed since the start of the COVID pandemic, a decline of more than 50 percent.
Out of 203 retailers open in 2019 in the city’s Union Square area, just 107 are still operating, a drop of 47 percent in just a few pandemic-ravaged years.
A Target store in the city has been forced to lock up more of its products to stave off thieves.
An employee at the location recently said it was being robbed as often as ‘every ten minutes.’
