Supervisor's Hearing on New Jail for SF

Supervisor's Hearing on New Jail for SF
Thursday, January 23, 1:00 - 3:30 PM
SF City Hall, Rm 250, Supervisors Chambers

Join community members to oppose construction of a new jail at the SF Supervisors Neighborhood Services & Safety Committee, which will examine whether the jail construction plans are the "most cost effective" way to meet the short- and long-term needs of prisoners in San Francisco.

San Francisco seems determined to spend around $700 million to build a new jail, in spite of two nearly empty jails and In spite of the fact that a State agency on prison construction recommending AGAINST the SF jail rebuild. 3/4 of SF Jail inmates are awaiting trial and there because they cannot make bail, and blacks are 10X over-represented in the jail population.

SF City Jails #3 and #4 will disappear after the demolition of the seismically unsafe “Hall of Justice” at 850 Bryant, and San Francisco wants to build a new jail. Unlike the State and most California cities, San Francisco jails were at only 65% of capacity for the last two years, and SF’s 2013 jail population could be housed in the remaining jails if a newer remaining jail, CJ #6, were taken out of mothballs. And re-opening CJ #6 would be unnecessary with the institution of a proposed program for electronic monitoring rather than jail for 500 people awaiting trial for non-violent offences.

This $700 million ($23 million/year over 30 years) could be used to provide services to prevent people from entering or re-entering jail in the first place. The $1 billion Prop C Housing Trust Fund could be expanded by 70%, extending housing assistance down to extremely-low income levels. 600 of SF poorest families could live in subsidized apartments for 30 years. 7,000 low-income apartments could be renovated.

See the Facebook page for this event at http://tinyurl.com/lpuqas8 .

Read more about the proposed jail rebuild at http://tinyurl.com/kwsteur .