By Alexis Rios-Jimenez
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – San Francisco Young Democrats (SFYD) released a statement here this week criticizing recent policy decisions made by SF District Attorney Brooke Jenkins which the organization labeled as “Anti-Youth.”
The statement addressed the SFYD’s fierce opposition to DA Jenkins’ policy agenda regarding youth-related issues such as the implementation of a “5 Strikes” drug enforcement policy that, according to the SFYD, would effectively criminalize addiction and deeply worsen a public health crisis that has so severely impacted the community.
The San Francisco Young Democrats also reiterated its commitment to push for alternatives for the incarceration of youth and overall justice reform, and that not doing so would be a flagrant shortcoming of DA Brooke Jenkins’ leadership.
The SFYD makes clear that its stance is that San Francisco “cannot and must not incarcerate its way out of poverty, systemic racism, or a public health crisis.”
In the statement, the SFYD calls on DA Jenkins and the office of the District Attorney to stop charging minors as adults in court, scrap the new “5 Strikes” drug policy, and focus on establishing alternatives to incarceration in cooperation with the community in order to eventually reduce the incarcerated population and close Juvenile Hall altogether.
The San Francisco Young Democrats detailed its vision of working to ensure San Francisco is a “template for successful progressive criminal justice reform where young people are empowered to be active in the decision-making processes that affect their communities.”
