Increased police funding, increased surveillance, and harsher sentencing... Not exactly the public safety reforms that many were hoping for.
SF has shown the road to hell is paved in good intentions. I moved out of SF because there were constantly tweakers camping in my garage area and cops took hours to respond and they didn’t even do anything, drug users just came back repeatedly after cops left. SF is fine for the champagne liberals living on Nob Hill with private security but everyone else is living in a place where rule of law barely exists.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this sounds like the problem you want to solve: drug users and homeless people make you feel unsafe, and you want to feel more safe.
I don’t personally feel unsafe in SF, at all. The problem I’d like to solve is this: how can we get help to people who need it? Be that unhoused people, people struggling with mental health issues, people who are addicted to drugs.
I don’t know if more social services will help solve my problem, you’re right that we spend a lot of money on it and it doesn’t seem to work all that well. But I do know that more policing will absolutely not solve my problem, it will only make it worse. It might solve yours though, as there won’t be as much drug use and theft with increased police presence.
I’m not saying either problem is objectively the right or wrong one. I don’t think there is an objective answer. Just want to show you why people like myself are not looking for an increase in SFPD funding.
Edited for clarity.
Maybe people in the groups typically abused by the criminal justice system? Many of them feel less safe with police around, not more.
"Beatings will continue until morale improves", was not meant to be advice.
Both countries are paternalistic, statist societies controlled by right-wing governments since WW2. Singapore's safety comes from harsh punishment for antisocial behaviors, from caning for vandalism all the way to execution for drug trafficking. Japan is a bit softer on this front but strict cultural norms are enforced by society as a whole. They have freedom of speech but start rioting the way BLM did in 2020 and you can expect the government to use a few "emergency powers" with overwhelming support from the public.
Yes, they've implemented a few social safety nets here and there that resemble the welfare system in Western Europe, but they also don't hesitate to use the full power of the state (and public shaming) to crack down on deviant behavior.