For six months, 130 deputies specialized in handling cases with "destructive or criminal behavior" will be deployed in the Tenderloin, Civic Center and South of Market neighborhoods starting in late June to "disrupt the cycle of self-harm," the Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies will work as a mobile, mutual aid unit for the San Francisco Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to help make arrests and reduce emergency response times in the city.
The Sheriff's Office will also make more frequent checks on the 100-plus people residing in the Tenderloin neighborhood, who were released from jail or sentenced to electric monitoring.
Miyamoto said resolving the city's worsening fentanyl crisis will require a "head-on, tough love approach" by arresting dealers, guiding those with drug addictions to proper programs and making the law enforcement presence known in the area.
He said that without the threat of jail time, many people will not be compelled to join addiction programs that the city provides.
Miyamoto added that, "The sad truth of drug addiction is that individuals rarely want to get the help they need until they hit rock bottom, which for many involved in this crisis, is incarceration. Those suffering from drug addiction are slowly dying on our streets because they have no reason to get clean and drug dealers are profiting off their pain."
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents the Tenderloin, said that the city needs to make it known that it will no longer tolerate the harm caused by open-air drug scenes, and that's why he is drawing support for more enforcement in the area.
