Last summer, San Franciscans voted by a 10-point margin to recall Chesa Boudin, the city’s progressive district attorney. Boudin was one of several high-profile progressives who ran in local district attorney races on a platform of smarter, more humane criminal justice policy. Crime continued to plague San Francisco after Boudin’s election, and his recall looked like a major setback for criminal justice reform in urban areas.
His successor, Brooke Jenkins, assumed office one year ago this month after promising a return to more punitive prosecution. Is San Francisco any safer now than it was under Boudin?
From her first days in office, Jenkins pledged to serve as a contrast to her predecessor. She revoked plea agreements for drug offenses offered during Boudin’s time in office and said she would more aggressively prosecute possession of illicit fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid often mixed with other narcotics. She has touted increased arrests as necessary for “disrupting open-air drug markets.”
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