SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Police Department has increased enforcement against drug dealing in the Tenderloin, Mid-Market and South of Market regions. The enforcement is part of the Department’s efforts to curb the flow of dangerous drugs into SF and Mayor London Breed’s campaign to keep the streets clean and safe for residents.
According to a press release from the Mayor’s Office, recently, officers from the Tenderloin Station, Southern Station, and the SFPD’s Narcotics units conducted drug sting operations in these targeted areas, where 62 arrests for drug sale related offenses were made. A total of 158 arrests were made for offenses ranging from drug sales to stolen property and auto burglary.
“The police are cracking down on drug dealing because it is simply unacceptable that we have open air drug sales of increasingly dangerous substances like heroin and fentanyl in our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Breed. “These are some of the fastest growing areas for families and children in our City and yet I hear constantly from parents and residents who are fed up that drug dealers continue to return to their community and prey on vulnerable people. We will be continuing these efforts because everyone, regardless of which neighborhood they live in, deserves to live in an environment free from drug dealing.”
The SFPD is utilizing a two-tiered strategy to decrease the sale of dangerous narcotics. The Narcotics Unit is concentrating on disrupting the flow of drugs into San Francisco and arresting people participating in drug trafficking and transportation. At present, over 125 pounds of narcotics and close to a half a million dollars of drug money, in addition to guns and assault rifles have been confiscated. Street officers are concurrently implementing sting operations and buy busts at the street level to decrease public drug sales.
“We are working strategically to address these crimes,” said SFPD Chief William Scott. “Our Tenderloin and Southern Stations, along with our Narcotics Unit are making a significant impact on these crimes. Our priority is to make all communities in our City safe for everyone by addressing the criminal activity that puts so many people in harm’s way and impacts the quality of their lives.”
Since the start of 2018, the Police Department has focused on stopping drug dealing and addressing quality of life issues at UN Plaza and the adjacent Market Street corridor and Civic Center Plaza. This resulted in 637 police bookings and citations.
