SF DA Puts Spotlight on Quality of Life Crimes
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris is asking Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors for five more prosecutors to help try crimes like graffiti, aggressive panhandling and prostitution.
People who commit so-called "quality of life" crimes can graduate to more serious crimes, according to Harris.
"The class of crime that we're dealing with, in terms of the increased number of misdemeanor cases we're prosecuting so far, are the kinds of cases that actually do require going through the court system and that require some consequence," she said.
Harris said her office’s misdemeanor unit, which recently doubled the amount of cases it handles, is severely understaffed. "If we don't put more resources to address these kinds of crimes we're looking at what might be a rash of dismissals of these cases."
Newsom is also prioritizing quality of life crimes, something that is shaping up to be a major election issue.
