San Francisco's police-free response program shows reason for cautious optimism

Two of San Francisco's non-police alternative response programs have led to fewer police calls and resulted in a large number of residents accepting harm-reduction supplies like naloxone and fentanyl test strips, according to a recent report.

Why it matters: Proponents of such programs have argued that they could reduce harmful and sometimes violent interactions with law enforcement, as well as free up 911 dispatchers and police — two departments that are facing staffing shortages.

Driving the news: The report , released this month by the New York University School of Law's Policing Project, analyzed the effectiveness of San Francisco's Street Crisis Response Team (SCRT) — designed to respond to people experiencing mental health crises — and the Street Overdose Response Team (SORT), for residents experiencing drug overdoses.

• The performance of both teams offers "reason for cautious optimism," according to the report.

By the numbers: From June 2022 through August 2023, SCRT responded to 12,581 calls — about 29 per day — within 16 minutes, on average, according to the Policing Project.

• Between August 2021 and May 2023, SORT responded to more than 3,000 calls — the majority of which involved an overdose.
• In the majority of SCRT's encounters, the police were never called for backup, while a significant portion (1,391) of SORT's clients accepted harm-reduction supplies, according to the report.

What they're saying: The city has made "real strides" in non-police alternatives to emergencies, Jessica Gillooly, a policing fellow at the Policing Project, said in a written statement.

• But San Francisco "faces complex social problems" and the programs themselves "still have room for growth."

Between the lines: Last year , San Francisco began a third alternative program, a one-year pilot program called Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team (HEART), designed to respond to non-emergency and non-medical 911 and 311 calls involving unhoused people.

• The program, however, launched after the Policing Project's data collection efforts ended.
• In May, Breed said the program responded to nearly 14,000 homelessness-related calls in its first year and was "making a difference," the San Francisco Examiner reports .

What's next: The report recommends San Francisco create a centralized system to prevent "fragmentation and confusion" and work to clarify for the public what teams are responsible for what incidents.

• In a statement, Mayor London Breed said the city is committed to "a comprehensive, innovative approach to improving safety and support for those struggling on our streets."

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