But who is Chesa Boudin? Some background info as things get started.https://heresaymedia.org/chesa-boudin-explainer-district-attorney-san-francisco/ …
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A softball question to start.
Manny Yekutiel, the proprietor of @welcometomannys, asks Boudin how the pandemic has changed you as a person? "It's forced us to be creative and innovative in how we do our work... it forced me to learn how to cook sourdough at home."
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On a more serious note,
@chesaboudin says he took the past 18 months to "center" his criminal justice work on victims. In the wake of#GeorgeFloyd, he said he wants to make sure that all victims are treated equally under the law.
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Next question: What is something that you surprised in a good way and what is something that was harder than you thought it would be?
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Boudin: "I would say the negative has been getting things done during a pandemic is really slow. Even when we have great ideas... in the last 18 months it has been difficult getting everyone in the same room and on the same page."
@chesaboudin#realtalkShow this thread -
"It makes it hard for my staff to prosecute things effectively," said Boudin. "When I took office I inherited over 5,000 open criminal cases. On average they were over a year old. 20% were two years old. But we haven't had courts open to process them."
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The average age of a case is about double, says
@chesaboudin since he took office.pic.twitter.com/OLy8DNg0kOShow this thread -
More on the backlog: "Every day my lawyers are going to 6 or 7 courtrooms," says Boudin. "Most of the time the judges say come back next week." "We're reopening... but it's going to be a slow and difficult process as we sort through a backlog that was already a massive backlog."
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Next question and it's a loaded one. Is San Francisco getting less safe? Boudin: "Some categories have gone up and some have gone down," he says. Overall, he says crimes are down by about 20%. We'll fact-check that one and get back to you.
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"So why is everyone blaming you?" asks Manny. "What do you make of this feeling that... there is a crime wave?"
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"Nothing is more important than making San Francisco safe," says
@chesaboudin. "We want people to feel safe in their homes. It's the thing that keeps me up at night, how we can continue to make it a safer city."Show this thread -
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@chesaboudin has a few theories: 1) Social Media. "We just survived a horrific 18-month pandemic and most of us lived our lives through a computer screen." Twitter, Nextdoor were "our portals to the world."Show this thread -
Theory 2: "We saw a very different San Francisco than the one that makes us feel safe and comfortable." He says the problems of homelessness, drug addiction and mental health were much more visible.
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Now the conversation has moved onto policing.
@chesaboudin is doubling down on how it's the District Attorney's responsibility to hold the police to account in order to respect the profession. "They deserve their ranks to be free of corruption and coercive force," he says.Show this thread -
"How many people think that Trump left us a virus?"
@chesaboudin asks the crowd. He's trying to explain, but there's a heckler with a bullhorn shouting over him.
Hard to make out.Show this thread -
"I refuse to be distracted," announces
@chesaboudin.Show this thread -
Are you worried about losing your job? asks Yekutiel. No. Boudin says he just wants to do his job.
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Now onto the recall. Boudin believes that attention should be turned toward making change and criminal justice reform: "It's not made by $20,000 a day on paid signature gatherers," he says.
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Now onto retail crime. He's talking about thefts of Gucci bags and items from Walgreens. "What we learned is we're never going to prosecute our way out of retail theft. Most retail theft doesn't get reported." Of the thefts that are reported about 2% result in an arrest, he says.
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"The outcome is that police can rarely make arrests and if police can't make arrests we can't prosecute," says
@chesaboudin. So he says that the focus should be on helping police to make arrests so that the DA's office can prosecute.Show this thread -
Now onto
#gunviolence. Boudin says violent crimes are down & homicides are at a 50-year low, but that every life still counts. "We must find a way of bringing homicides down. We need to think big picture about gun violence. You cannot bring someone back after they've been shot."Show this thread -
Now Boudin is speaking on
#restorativejustice and services for victims of crime: "We should serve and support crime victims regardless of whether police make an arrest. We must invest not only in punitive justice but also in healing."Show this thread -
Big surprise! Boudin just announced that he's going to be a father.
"Mazel tov!" says Yekutiel. "There's nothing more concrete than having a child... to think bold," ~ @chesaboudinShow this thread -
The floor is now open for audience questions.
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One audience member is asking for an "elevator pitch" to dissuade people from recalling.
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Boudin looks to be amending a previous statement on signature gatherers. "The folks who are gathering signatures for the recall are people who desperately need work. I have a tremendous amount of empathy for those folks. ... Talk to the folks who are considering signing."
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One audience member is confronting Boudin about the city's drug crisis. "When it comes to the war on drugs, it didn't work. ... What we need is a dramatic expansion" in mental health services, harm reduction & safe consumption sites, he says.
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"This is a public health crisis,"
@chesaboudin adds. "I want it to be easier to get help than it is to get high." Check out our inside look into the city's drug crisis for more on this issue:https://heresaymedia.org/recovering-heroin-addict-san-francisco-failing-drug-users/ …Show this thread -
Now we've moved into decarceration. Boudin believes it's not just a criminal justice issue but a public health issue. "75% of people who are taken to SF county jail are drug-addicted, mentally ill or both. My role is to promote public safety," he says.
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He cites a case he dealt with during the pandemic of moving a young drug-addicted woman to space where she could safely deliver her child. "It doesn't make us safer for a young woman with a substance abuse problem and a high-risk pregnancy to be in jail during a pandemic."
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