SF Mayor Says Police Will Not Handle Non-Criminal Matters

Police will no longer respond to non-criminal calls, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced as part of a set of policies to address structural inequities.

The city will divert non-violent calls from the police department to “non-law enforcement agencies,” according to a statement from the Mayor’s Office.

According to the Los Angeles Times, trained and unarmed professionals will respond to calls involving mental health, the homeless, school discipline, and neighbor disputes.

“Over the next year, the City will develop a systematic response plan to improve direct connection to community-based or City service providers,” the statement read.

“San Francisco has made progress reforming our police department, but we know that we still have significant work to do,” Breed added.

“We know that a lack of equity in our society overall leads to a lot of the problems that police are being asked to solve. We are going to keep pushing for additional reforms and continue to find ways to reinvest in communities that have historically been underserved and harmed by systemic racism.”

Breed’s plan, which will be rolled out in the upcoming months, also includes addressing police bias and strengthening accountability, demilitarizing the police, and promoting economic justice. The goal is to limit police confrontations.

Calls for defunding police have reached an unprecedented pitch in the past few months, following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others at the hands of police.