Elect a real DA who respects the law and law-abiding citizens, and the police will be able to do their jobs. Until then it’s a lost cause.
Criminalizing these activities is incredibly costly and doesn't truly solve anything.
People are quick to question the morality of desperate unhappy poor people when they break the law when they don't have enough resources or options, and yet we rarely consider the immorality of those who hoard incredible wealth they don't need, when there are desperate unhappy poor people in need.
Shouldn't those with great power have the greater responsibility?
https://www.sfchronicle.com/local-politics/article/S-F-hunge...
Also a large number of people receiving food aid are neither homeless nor vagrants, but the working poor.
But I do think folks here have a lot of illusions about the nature of poverty and who is poor that they've gathered mostly by vague cultural osmosis and conservative propagated myths, not by working with or for poor folks, talking to those who do, academic studies (either doing, or reading), or even watching documentaries.
The problem in SF is that we've disbanded the team that tries to catch people in the act[2]. IIUC, it's both because there weren't enough resources and the DA won't prosecute anyway, so what's the point.
[1] - Maybe not in the case of a-rod: https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Half-million-in-lo...
[2] - https://www.sfweekly.com/news/authorities-hustle-to-curb-s-f...
>“We see a lot of repeat offenders.”
Sure if each criminal act was done by a different person, it probably would be expensive. In most cities, very small set of people are responsible for 99% of the crime. So if you book a single person, it will prevent multiple such incidents and bring down the cost and will be worthwhile. It's not a cost problem, it is a politics problem.
Besides doesn't matter how small the crime is. If tomorrow, if what the DA and the cops are are doing get written into law, ie, anything that is of less value than what costs us to prosecute is legal, the society will descend into chaos very quickly. Like why the hell am I paying for groceries?