San Francisco has closed several jails over the past few years, and plans are currently in place to complete at least three more prisons shortly. It has left a lot of residents wondering whether this is the right step for our city.

When San Francisco's County Jail 4 closed in September 2020, it became the third jail in the city to close in the past decade. San Francisco Sheriff's Office responded by increasing its focus on #crimeprevention and incarceration alternatives, such as electronic monitoring and supervised work programs.

The American Civil Liberties Union released a report claiming that their review of crime statistics showed "the amount by which a county changed its jail population wasn't correlated with the amount of change in crime." In other words, keeping more inmates behind bars does not necessarily make society safer.

Despite the ACLU's assertions, concerns persist about chronic offenders committing further crimes. Recently, a man named Bill Gene Hobbs was allowed to return to the streets of San Francisco after a judge dismissed a stalking case against him, and he has since been accused of "following, grabbing and, in one case, forcibly kissing [women] as they walked alone."

Some people believe that San Francisco's law enforcement is becoming too lax in the interest of closing jails. They say that criminals are placed behind bars to keep the streets safe, and letting them out poses a significant risk of hurting those in the community. 

Conversely, others believe that releasing prisoners is essential to making the criminal justice system more effective. They say that most County jail inmates have not been convicted of any crime but are awaiting trial and cannot afford bail, a situation which they believe unfairly targets low-income and minority families.

The question up for debate: Is San Francisco going too far with its #jailclosings?