SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – San Francisco's newly-appointed district attorney looks to be backing Mayor London Breed's proposal for overhauling the surveillance ordinance across the city with the intention of cracking down on open air drug markets.
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That's according to a letter obtained by SFGATE written by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to Supervisor Aaron Peskin, chairman of the city's Board of Supervisors Rules Committee.
"What we have here is differing ideas about public safety (that have) long been in San Francisco," KCBS Radio Insider Phil Matier said, pointing out that just-recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin has been quietly opposed to the idea of increased surveillance in the past.
Former District Attorney George Gascón also had "concerns about civil liberties” in opposing the plan.
"It will be basically the law enforcement – which would be the DA, the mayor and the police chief – up against the (San Francisco) Board of Supervisors, possibly, or some of the Board of Supervisors," Matier said of the proposal's road ahead. "So that's going to change sort of…the strength on each side. If the board says no, then they'll be the ones saying no and they can't say 'We're not just the only ones saying no.'"
The American Civil Liberties Union is among the groups opposed to the proposed increased surveillance.
Jenkins has also asked for a review of "high-profile" plea agreements still in the works and a deeper understanding of how the office handles repeat offenders caught selling drugs, particularly in the Tenderloin neighborhood.
Breed is also addressing reports of a rocky start for the new district attorney.
"Well, previous DAs have always had challenging starts to their term," Breed told KCBS Radio's Patti Reising and Kris Ankarlo on Monday. "I will say that this is not about one particular individual. This is about trying to maintain public safety, and part of that is going in – which is what the DA did, went in with an open mind and having a conversation with the senior staff to talk about ways to move the office forward. And sadly, there are some people there who aren't very interested in doing that.
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