Learning from San Francisco

On Tuesday, a broad coalition of minority voters from across the economic spectrum voted to oust San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office. The reason was simple: He failed to make the city a safer place.

In fact, his refusal to prosecute the vast majority of theft and drug-related offenses had the exact opposite effect. Vehicle break-ins are up between 100% and 750% in different parts of the city. Retail burglaries are up by at least 52%. More than 700 people have fatally overdosed in the past year. For comparison, in 2016, the number of people who overdosed in the city was 88. In total, San Francisco has twice the crime rate of Compton, a notoriously violent city known for its drug-gang turf wars.