After a razor close election, new San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin takes the oath of office on Wednesday night at the Herbst Theater.
Boudin says he ran for D.A. because there are fundamental problems in the way the criminal justice system administers justice.
“I ran on a platform that was very explicitly engaging with some of the breakdowns in trust between law enforcement and the community, and between what happens in the courtroom and the perception of what happens in the courtroom,” Boudin told KCBS Radio. “We have a lot of work do to.”
Boudin wants to do away with cash bail, promote restorative justice and not prosecute quality-of-life crimes.
“Setting up a tent to stay out of the rain, for example, I’ve seen those cases prosecuted,” Boudin said. “Those are the kinds of cases that I think are so problematic.”
Boudin says 75% of the people booked in San Francisco jail are either drug-addicted, mentally ill or often both and he intends to be more understanding of their conditions.
"It doesn't mean that being poor or homeless is a free pass to break the law," said Boudin to KCBS Radio, "but it does mean that we're not going to criminalize poverty.
“In some instances, that’s going to require prosecution. In others, a diversion approach, where we redirect people towards appropriate services is going to be far more effective and far more humane,” Boudin added.
Right-wing critics responding to Boudin's platform claimed they wanted to come pee in San Francisco after his election. Boudin responded by suggesting that building public toilets would be a better solution than jailing people for public urination.
"My commitment over these next four years is to rebuild trust and restore that confidence, so that people feel good using the word justice after the word criminal," Boudin said.
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