San Francisco’s mayor and police chief announced on Wednesday that more street patrols have been dedicated to the city’s Asian American neighborhoods.
The additional patrols come as unprovoked attacks are on the rise in the Bay area and nationwide, including a deadly shooting spree in Atlanta, which has not been ruled out as a hate crime against Asians.
For those who have already been arrested, like a man arrested for two violent, unprovoked incidents in the city this week, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said finishing the job is key.
"The first thing, with the crimes that have already occurred, we have to hold people accountable," he said. "We have to investigate these cases with all resources…and we need to make arrests, which we’ve done that."
The next step is preventing them in the first place.
"There have been not only stepped up patrols, we’ve expanded our Street Violence Intervention Program," San Francisco Mayor London Breed said. "Members of the community were focused primarily on violent crimes that were sadly happening with gun violence in communities like the Bayview, the Mission and the Western Addition."
Now they’re also focused on San Francisco neighborhoods like Chinatown and the Inner Sunset. Breed blamed the former president for fanning the flames of racism during his time presiding over the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and blaming it on China.
State Assemblyman Phil Ting, who helped engineer wording into the State Budget to include $1.4 million to fund Stop AAPI Hate, told KCBS Radio's Jeff Bell and Patti Reising on Wednesday that more than just money is needed.
"These are not isolated incidents," he explained. "This is a systemic issue that we need a systemic solution for."
As far as increased patrols, Ting said properly coding hate crimes is a big step, as is breaking down systemic racism within neighborhoods.
"Police are part of the solution, but it’s really getting our communities together to stand with each other," Ting added. "The police physically can’t be everywhere at any given moment."
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