this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2024
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The city's goal isn't safety and justice for all, it's enough stability to continue operating and growing. Here's what that might look like:
A fire or police chief is told that city tax revenue (a large source of their station's funding), goes down when tourists stop visiting. Then, it's also mentioned that testing for date rape drugs leads to positive results for date rape drugs, and no reasonable person would want to visit a city known for their rates of crimes involving date rape drugs, now, would they? It would be so terrible if there was no money for the station's most effective community safety programs and equipment upgrades because of declining tourism. If things got bad enough, there might not be enough money to keep the station open without having to rely on public fundraisers like county fair dunk tanks and pancake breakfasts, and doesn't the city where you built your career deserve better than that?
That gives our police force way more credit than is due.
One time I was robbed, I called 911, they told me to wait and the police would be right there. I sat there for 20 minutes and nothing. I called again and the 911 person told me this time that they had better things to do and that if I wanted I could walk a mile or two to the station to file a police report.
Another time someone stole my credit card info, purchased things at a big box retailer, then returned some of those things for cash. As part of the return process they had to give an valid ID and address, which that retailer had, on file, but they could only give that to the police. I went down to the station filed a detailed police report stating all they needed to do to solve this case was a phone call.
Anyway, they never bothered with that one either.
But they do show up in numbers if a unhoused person puts their tent up on a sidewalk in the presidio. And right quick!
The police in SF are not known for their willingness to do anything about any crime.
My point isn't that SF police are doing what they're supposed to, it's that this problem is systemic. It's not just the police that are fucking this up, it's not just fire making comments of pure idiocy about how appropriate it is to test for date rape drugs, it's a problem that city government, police, fire, and health services are all contributing to when they refuse to test a patient who's clearly been drugged. They have their tiny bit of hope for deniability ("date rape drugs aren't commonly used in crimes here" and "what can you do when the test isn't called for?" kinds of garbage) that every person should recognize as dangerous to all of society.
MY point is that the SF police are pretty useless and I doubt that they care enough to have that conversation about revenue. That would be corrupt police work and they don't do police work, as a rule.
But I hear your point. Mine wasn't meant as an argument against it as much as an extra layer of cynicism on top of it.
The cynicism is so valid in examples like this. Haha a few years ago, I would've assumed that police didn't want the "extra" work of having to process the assault; now, there are so many other options available for them to not do work!