Supervisors demand answers, action after SFPD reports 97% drop in traffic citations in 8 years

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Public safety was one of the top issues discussed by city officials this afternoon in San Francisco -- from the drug overdose crisis, to armed security guards and gun violence.

San Francisco supervisors want answers from the police with traffic citations plummeting and pedestrian fatalities on the rise.

The Public Safety Committee took up the issue Thursday, led by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.

The supervisor sent a letter of inquiry to the police department after it reported a 97% drop in traffic citations in eight years.

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"I would like for us to get closer to a plan to actually have more traffic enforcement," Mandelman said.

The police department pointed to its staffing shortage as a key part of the problem

"Because we have less people overall in the department. Those resources at the traffic company are being pulled in different directions to meet the needs," said Commander Nicole Jones with SFPD.

Police also pointed to a policy upping the amount paperwork that comes along with a citation, also warning the citation count doesn't tell the whole story.

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"There is this pool of stops that are happening that aren't resulting in citations, but they are traffic stops and an effort for educational enforcement to change people's behavior and make the streets safer," Jones said.

"What's a reasonable amount of time to give you?" Mandelman said, the supervisor making a push for a plan.

"I think in the first quarter of next year, we'll definitely have our feet underneath us and be able to have assessed the situation enough to measure into place in form of a plan," Jones said.

The drug overdose crisis also dominated a good part of Thursday's meeting.

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District Attorney Brooke Jenkins made an appearance to call out the courts, saying of the more than 200 motions to detain drug dealers, only a fraction have been held in custody.

"We've only had 19 of those motions granted to date, which means we still have most of those drug dealers back on the street selling the same poison. Just like we wouldn't allow someone who shoots a gun to cycle back on the street immediately, we shouldn't allow those who are selling death to do so either," Jenkins said.

Now the DA has also doubled down on investigating overdose deaths, saying her office is ready to charge drug dealers with murder

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