Tell Chesa Boudin: We'll Be Watching
District Attorney-Elect Chesa Boudin.
Many Stop Crime SF members are expressing concern that Chesa Boudin, a public defender, will be San Francisco's next district attorney.
The district attorney sets the agenda for what crimes will — or won't — be prosecuted. Boudin spent his career defending criminal suspects. This is noble work. But we already have a robust public defender office. We don’t need two public defenders, which raises the questions of what will become of the district attorney’s office ?
I’m vice president of Stop Crime SF, a volunteer group of more than 900 members. We’ve grown rapidy because of a feeling that San Francisco was already too lenient when it came to prosecuting crime. We have the highest rate of property crime among large U.S. cities and who hasn't had their car window smashed? Electing a criminal defense attorney as our top prosecutor seemed inconceivable.
We agree with some of Boudin’s proposed reforms. For example, we should be offering treatment and a path to rehabilitation when crimes are committed by someone severely mentally ill or drug addicted. Our prisons cannot be de facto mental institutions.
The Stop Crime SF Court Watch program is not interested in following the cases of first-time offenders. If medical treatment, rehab, probation or a diversion program can put a life on the right path, we support it.
We’re concerned about the person who has reoffended multiple times, even while on probation — especially if the cases are violent. We want our new district attorney to care about these cases, too.
We wish Stop Crime SF didn't have to exist. Our hundreds of volunteer members shouldn't have to worry about being victims of crime and spending their spare time doing Court Watch and advocating for justice. But if our elected officials and judges aren't doing their jobs, it's up to the people to hold them accountable.
Continue reading below for more context about our current situation and some actions you can take now to make your voice heard.
Thanks for your support,
Joel Engardio
Vice President
Stop Crime SF
Action items
Send a letter to Chesa Boudin
Let Chesa Boudin know that you hope he will protect victims and work to keep the most dangerous criminals off our streets.
Click here for an email template. Just add your name at the end and hit send. Or feel free to include your own narrative.Become a Stop Crime SF member
Click here to join the Stop Crime SF membership and receive our newsletter. Learn about our Court Watch program and other activities on our website and blog: stopcrimesf.com
How we got here
Chesa Boudin won the election with only 35 percent of first choice votes. More than 64 percent of voters chose one of the three other candidates who had prosecution experience and favored stronger enforcement of our laws.
Yet Boudin prevailed because of San Francisco's ranked choice ballot that creates an "instant runoff" when no candidate reaches a majority. Not enough voters who preferred a prosector marked all three candidates with prosecution experience on their ballot. This would have ensured a larger transfer of votes to beat Boudin.
To avoid being disenfranchised, we must try to understand how ranked choice works and always select second and third choice "insurance" votes instead of voting for only one candidate.
Message to Chesa Boudin
Click here to send.
District Attorney-Elect Chesa Boudin:
I am concerned that a public defender is now our city's top prosecutor, especially when San Francisco has the highest rate of property crime among large U.S. cities.
In an ideal system, the district attorney prosecutes crime and supports victims as vigorously as the public defender advocates for the accused. Both are vital roles and the inherent tension is what makes justice possible. When the scale is tipped too far in either direction, the result is a society out of balance.
You've mentioned in news reports since your election that you intend to "work with everybody" and "find common ground" to "transform the criminal justice system and make the city safer."
I hope this is true because the rampant property crime we're experiencing in San Francisco has turned increasingly violent. In the latest incident, three seniors were robbed and beaten near a Chinatown park.
I'm one of more than 900 members of a volunteer group called Stop Crime SF. We work together to reduce and prevent crime in our neighborhoods while holding public officials and the criminal justice system accountable. We also run a Court Watch program.
Stop Crime SF is currently following the cases of a man who was shot and killed for his camera on Twin Peaks and an 89-year-old grandmother who was robbed and beaten in Visitacion Valley and left in a coma.
Please think of these victims and prosecute crimes before they become violent.