San Francisco's woke District Attorney Chesa Boudin has been charging people with theft in less than 50% of all cases throughout his tenure, new data reveals.
Businesses throughout the city have reduced their hours or closed entirely because of the uptick in property theft, and Boudin has been lambasted by local critics for 'destroying the fabric of our city.'
A Safeway grocery store became the most recent business to suffer from the rampant shoplifting, citing it as the reason for scaling back its round-the-clock service to just 6am to 9pm.
Boudin ran for his position on the promise that he would take a new approach to crime by not prosecuting lower-level offenses. He has stuck to that promise, to the chagrin of many locals, by only charging people of theft in 46% of all cases since taking office.
In comparison, his predecessor George Gascon has made such charges in 62% of all cases in 2018 and 2019, according to city data analyzed by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Boudin now faces a likely recall just two years into his term as his critics launched a petition last March that has collected more than 83,000 signatures, far above the 51,000 needed to launch an election.
San Francisco's woke District Attorney Chesa Boudin has been charging people for theft in less than 50% of all cases throughout his tenure, new data reveals
Overall, Boudin has charged people with crimes in 48% of all reported cases, while Gascon has a charging rate of 54%
Boudin has also convicted far less people of both crimes than Gascon, only convicting thieves in 79% of thefts and 62% of petty thefts
Boudin faces a likely recall as a petition launched last March has collected more than 83,000 signatures, far above the 51,000 needed to launch an election
Some who have joined the recall came from his own administration as 50 lawyers from his office quit or were fired since he took the reins in January 2020, representing roughly one-third of the department's prosecutors.
'He has vowed from the beginning to not prosecute quality of life crimes. Quality of life is ... the basis of a society, of our city. If you're not going to hold people responsible for that you're basically destroying the fabric of our city,' Richie Greenberg, a former Republican mayoral candidate and spokesperson for the Committee Supporting the Recall of DA Chesa Boudin, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Boudin has an even lower rate in petty crime and has only made charges in 35% of all cases, compared to Gascon's 58%.
Boudin has also convicted far less people of both crimes than Gascon, only convicting thieves in 79% of thefts and 62% of petty thefts. Gascon has an 82% conviction rate for theft and a 77% conviction rate for petty theft.
Overall, Boudin has charged people with crimes in 48% of all reported cases, while Gascon has a charging rate of 54%.
Boudin ran for his position on the promise that he would take a new approach to crime by not prosecuting lower-level offenses. He has stuck to that promise, to the chagrin of many locals. A video posted to Instagram in July captures the moment at least 10 people stole loads of designer bags from Neiman Marcus in San Francisco and fled undeterred
Witnesses told KTVU that the store was about to close when the suspects came in and smashed display cases before nabbing the goods and leaving
Boudin has had two upticks in charging rates: rape and narcotics. However, such cases have had less success in court as Boudin has only convicted 70% of those he charged with rape and has only convicted 62% of all perpetrators in narcotics arrests
Boudin has had two upticks in charging rates: rape and narcotics. Another promise he made was to take more alleged rape and narcotics perpetrators to court, even if he loses the case.
He has charged 63% of people with rape in reported cases, while Gascon has only charged 53%, and Boudin has charged 60% of people with narcotics-related arrests as compared to Gascon's 47%.
However, such cases have had less success in court as Boudin has only convicted 70% of those he charged with rape as opposed to Gascon's 81%. Meanwhile, Boudin has only convicted 62% of all perpetrators in narcotics arrests as opposed to Gascon's 75%.
Boudin previously argued that the pandemic is to blame for the drop in his charging rate, citing the reduced operation of San Francisco's court system caused by COVID-19 restrictions.
'We had clear instructions from courts to delay and defer anything we could delay and defer, [and] from the medical director to drastically reduce the (jail) population,' he said. 'In the context of those really difficult decisions, we did make intentional decisions to delay or defer charging low-level nonviolent cases.'
He also pointed to a law he enacted this year that allows judges to seek alternatives to jail or prison time for first-time offenders charged with most misdemeanors, which sees some entering community service or drug treatment programs.
A 24-hour Safeway store in the Castro area of San Francisco (pictured) has cut it's hours to now open from 6am to 9pm after it was targeted by 'off the charts' shoplifting
Walgreens insists that San Francisco's rampant crime is to blame, revealing it spends 46 times as much on security at its city stores, which face five times as many shoplifting incidents compared with those elsewhere in the country
Though a growing number of locals and public figures say Boudin has only
