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'Street Crisis' team to replace San Francisco police on mental health calls

sfgate.com

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Re: 'Street Crisis' team to replace San Francisco police on mental health calls

#21

Post by redis_mlc »

closeparen wrote: post #9
redis_mlc wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it would be illegal for me to use force myself (in modern countries, the state usually has the monopoly on use of force). No, it's not "illegal" to defend yourself in the USA. But get the name of a witness or you could end up in court for years. Many laws allow a defense, but you're responsible for meeting the burden of proof and legal fees. (The castle doctrine in some states was enacted to give property owners a…

The specific meaning of “the police don’t have to keep you safe” is that you cannot win a lawsuit against the police because you were the victim of a crime. Most communities hire police to do emergency response and would treat a failure of 911 the same way they treat a failure of water or sewer. San Francisco just values this less than other places.

No, you're not even close to correct.

For example if you say, "I think somebody is following me.", US police will just say, "So go file a restraining order."

They're not your friend, and won't let you use them as a tool in any way.

If you do call 911, the response time varies depending on the city and the nature of the call. In Detroit, you might get next-day service, if that.

Re: 'Street Crisis' team to replace San Francisco police on mental health calls

#23

Post by funviolence »

dmitrygr wrote: post #2

I've had to call 911 for such cause once in SF. A hobo tried to stab me with a needle, and chased after me. I called 911 specifically because i wanted someone to come and use force to keep me safe, as it would be illegal for me to use force myself (in modern countries, the state usually has the monopoly on use of force, and self defense needs to be proven beyond many doubts). > The response teams will be equipped > w…

bro if you had a permit, handgun, and a Jewish lawyer you could have blown that hobos brains out and had a story to tell when you returned to mother russia.

Re: 'Street Crisis' team to replace San Francisco police on mental health calls

#24

Post by closeparen »

1DRACOSEA8 wrote: post #20
kevin_b_er wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also effectively means they can brutalize you for funsies with little to no repercussion in the US.

And the well to do tech bros coddle up to the testosterone filled reactionaries. “Round them up!” Easy solution, that’s just lazy, you’re not even trying. San Francisco is also not equal to the rest of the US, I would dare say it’s closer to Mexico than anything else, but culturally California is quite diverse in attitude and flora. San Francisco puts up with a lot, always have, always will. It’s just embedded in the…

One thing I’ve noticed about native San Franciscans is that they just don’t go to the neighborhoods that lead tech workers to feel this way. It’s not like they’re actually walking their kids to school past needles and tents and rape threats and thinking it’s fine. They’re just not experiencing it. Often leads to people arguing past each other.

Re: 'Street Crisis' team to replace San Francisco police on mental health calls

#25

Post by toomuchtodo »

pmdulaney wrote: post #5

I imagine SFPD officers will be happy to offload these particular cases. And if the Street Crisis team can't handle a particular individual, they can always bring in the police themselves.

Can’t speak to SFPD, but St Pete in Central Florida is doing something similar, hiring 25 social workers instead of 25 police officers. I’m curious to see if this causes contention between officers and social workers. The social workers are obviously necessary and valuable, but this is likely to lead to a decrease in power for law enforcement based on force numbers if it starts happening at scale.

Re: 'Street Crisis' team to replace San Francisco police on mental health calls

#26

Post by danaliv »

erlich wrote: post #7

Why would someone call the police for a non-violent mental health issue? I can only imagine the need if there is a danger or someone will need to be restrained. I can only see this increasing risk of danger to citizens.

Well, people may not be calling "the police" per se; they call 911. And then 911 sends the police, because who else are they going to send?

Re: 'Street Crisis' team to replace San Francisco police on mental health calls

#28

Post by erlich »

mindcandy wrote: post #16
erlich wrote: post #7

Why would someone call the police for a non-violent mental health issue? I can only imagine the need if there is a danger or someone will need to be restrained. I can only see this increasing risk of danger to citizens.

Mostly because they don’t know who else to call. Not long ago I saw a very ragged man stumbling around and he just curled up and went to sleep in the middle of a busy road. What to do? I can stand and block traffic. But, he’s not listening to anyone and I’m not going to grab and drag someone who is that far gone. Thankfully, before I called the police another (very likely homeless) person was braver than me. He did g…

I mean this seems like what cops are for. Sending in cou sellors and a paramedic is just putting them in danger.

Homeless should not be above the law and if they a disturbing the peace they need to face consequences so they don't do it again or help them along on thr path to realizing this.

Re: 'Street Crisis' team to replace San Francisco police on mental health calls

#29

Post by erlich »

werber wrote: post #8
erlich wrote: post #7

Why would someone call the police for a non-violent mental health issue? I can only imagine the need if there is a danger or someone will need to be restrained. I can only see this increasing risk of danger to citizens.

People call the police without altercation all the time, with good intention, from someone sleeping on the street, using in public, having a mental episode in view of others. It's not even a I'm in danger thing a lot of the time, but a I do not know who else to call so I'll press 911 situation. I hope this works out for that city

If an old lady falls down then you call 911 and get an ambulance to come. There's no risk of violence.

But with mental illness there is the risk of violence and that is the police's role.

I can't see this working out and it's not fair to send in people not able to deal with a situation if it turns violent. You are sending in unarmed people to ENGAGE with someone potentially violent. If something goes wrong, sure they can call the police, but if you have people already engaging with the person it increases the risk for them.

Re: 'Street Crisis' team to replace San Francisco police on mental health calls

#30

Post by erlich »

danaliv wrote: post #26
erlich wrote: post #7

Why would someone call the police for a non-violent mental health issue? I can only imagine the need if there is a danger or someone will need to be restrained. I can only see this increasing risk of danger to citizens.

Well, people may not be calling "the police" per se; they call 911. And then 911 sends the police, because who else are they going to send?

Send an ambulance. But if there is potential danger to public, send the police.

Maybe police should travel with counselors.

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