Drug addicts fuel violent crime in spiraling San Francisco, expert says

The progressive policies in San Francisco have fueled the drug crisis and continued crime in the Democratic-run city.

Criminal defense attorney Brian Claypool, who is the owner and managing partner of the Claypool Law Firm, told Fox News Digital that San Francisco is a "train wreck" because of Democratic leadership that has spanned the last decade.

"San Francisco is a train wreck because of a combination of a couple of things; the left wing, radical Democratic leadership over the past 10 years," he said. "You have mayors who are very liberal, prosecutors who don't prosecute offenders and the no-bail system."

"[In California] we now have very lenient laws as it relates to prosecuting homeless people and drug dealers," he said.

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Claypool said that Proposition 47 set in motion the deterioration of San Francisco. The legislation, which was signed into law in November 2014, reclassified six minor felony offenses as misdemeanors – including shoplifting less than $950 and drug possession.

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"Proposition 47 was a major contributor to crime, not only in San Francisco, but across the state," he said. "Because you had previously convicted felons who were not deemed dangerous. For example, fentanyl would have been classified as a dangerous drug before Prop 47 was passed, but Prop 47 forced the criminal court system to reclassify these drug addicts as a misdemeanor offense."

"Why is that important? Because it put them [drug addicts] back on the streets," he said. "Which, in turn, created more homelessness."

Homeless people have been emboldened to commit robberies and violent crime in the once-crown jewel of California, Claypool said.

"The homeless are sitting on the streets with nothing to do and nowhere to go," he said. "And then they engage in violent criminal acts because maybe they need food or money, or because a lot of these homeless people realize that if they get arrested, they're not likely to go to jail."

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"There is no real legal or criminal consequence for some of these violent and illegal acts that the homeless people in San Francisco are committing," he said. "When you don't have any repercussions for the behavior, then it continues."

"In fact, I know there are a lot of police officers out there, both San Francisco and LA, who don't even arrest these folks anymore because they know that they're going to get there, they're going to get a light charge, or they're going to get released with no bail," he said.

Claypool noted that a repercussion of Proposition 47, along with the rampant homelessness, is that it is now harder to solve violent crimes.

"The DNA samples aren't taken. Only 5,000 samples a month are being taken, whereas there used to be 15,000 DNA samples a month," he said. "And that's important because you then have a smaller sample of DNA to try to solve violent crimes like rape, aggravated robbery or murder. It's harder now to solve those crimes."

Claypool's comments join a chorus of complaints about crime, filth, drug use and homelessness that have plagued the city for years. Some business owners have been forced to shutter in light of the dilemmas, including popular stores like Old Navy, Nordstrom and Whole Foods.

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In 2023, overdose records surpassed 2020 as the deadliest year on record in San Francisco. So far, it appears that 2024 will continue the city's deadly streak, with overdose deaths totaling 412 so far, according to the latest Medical Examiner’s report. 

Of the 412 deaths, 27 involved fentanyl.