Crime & Public Safety

By Dwayne Jusino

I am committed to investment of City resources to support community based intervention programs that target the underlying causes of crime and violence.

I will push for a committed investment of City resources to support community based intervention programs that target the underlying causes of crime and violence. I believe employing a comprehensive approach (domestic violence prevention, substance abuse and workforce development programs) strategy is the key to providing the social / political support necessary to effectively augment the SFPD's law enforcement efforts.

COMMUNITY POLICING

I am also a strong supporter of "Community Policing" principles that foster a strong supportive relationship between police officers and our community residents. I believe that a Community / Police partnership is integral to the campaign to halt violent crimes within our community. I believe that the misperception, held by some, of our police being akin to some hostile, para-military force occupying our community is, in large measure, the result of the poor political leadership demonstrated by the incumbent, Maxwell.

My personal experience within my own Portola neighborhood has shown me that, when our community leaders have used a constructive engagement approach, police, in turn, have demonstrated an active commitment to the welfare of our community. Accordingly in the case of Portola, Bayview Station officers have regularly provided crime and safety reports to community groups; they implemented a permanent foot patrol beat for the busy San Bruno Avenue commercial corridor; and they implemented special undercover operations to address the robberies, assault and narcotics dealing incidents that plagued the community.

As your Supervisor, I will actively work with district community leaders and police officials to fully implement the principles of "Community Policing", in order to develop the positive public safety environment so desperately desired and deserved by our community residents.

BILINGUAL OFFICERS

Our District 10 is one of the most diverse communities within San Francisco; in fact, the Portola, Visitacion Valley, and Silver Terrace neighborhoods are home to large populations of Chinese American residents. As such, it is absolutely essential that the District 10 serving Bayview and Ingleside Police Stations be adequately staffed with bilingual (Cantonese speaking) officers.

I believe that bilingual foot patrol officers can play a key role in encouraging our non-English speaking residents to overcome cultural reticence that hinder police efforts to protect and serve them. Our Chinese American residents, particularly, have frequently been the victims of vicious hate-crimes; bilingual capable officers can effectively build bridges between those residents and the various other ethnicities that comprise District 10. To that end, I am proud to note my successful efforts, through my leadership position on the District 10 Council, to secure the permanent assignment of a bilingual foot-patrol beat officer for San Bruno Avenue.

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

Sadly, during a period of high profile law enforcement incidents, rather than lead our district residents + who sought police accountability + into constructive engagement approaches, the incumbent Maxwell had chosen to instead pander to anti-police sentiments. The incumbent's demonizing and scape-goating rhetoric served only to undermine the professional image of the untarnished and caring officers, who comprise the vast majority of our police force.

Certainly I understand the need for, and do support, a fair and balanced process of inquiry into alleged incidents of police misconduct. However, the extreme slowness of that process, has too frequently fostered a misperception of "justice delayed, is justice being denied".

Accordingly, I will work to implement a more effective accountability process for timely reporting on the status and findings of official inquiries into allegations of police abuse or misconduct. By utilizing direct outreach channels through our many standing community groups + most especially the R.O.S.E.S. (Residents of the Southeast Sector) and Visitacion Valley Police / Community Relations forums + premature judgments and speculations of conspiracies are stopped from festering and further straining relations between our residents and our police department.