Latest news with #PaulMiyamoto
CBS News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott stepping down after 8 years
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott has announced he is leaving after leading the department for eight years. Scott said he is moving on to work in another jurisdiction. He said he can release details on his new position this afternoon. He is the longest serving police chief in San Francisco's history. Scott was hired under Mayor Ed Lee in 2017 and has served under four different mayors. Mayor Daniel Lurie, who was at the announcement, thanked Scott for his longtime service to the city. Lurie said, "Facing a significant officer shortage he has led the way in leveraging modern technology effectively and responsibly to prevent crime and catch criminals. He has implemented important reforms that have helped the department build trust with communities and improve public safety outcomes." During his announcement, Scott highlighted the city's falling crime rate. He led the department during the COVID pandemic and the fentanyl crisis. San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto said, "As Sheriff, the Chief and I have navigated the public safety challenges of the COVID pandemic, the aftermath of George Floyd's killing, and a fentanyl epidemic, which has forged a stronger connection between our sister agencies as we worked to keep our city safe." His tenure has not been without controversy. In 2019 Scott apologized for a raid on a freelance journalist's home. Scott also had conflict with former District Attorney Chesa Boudin. In 2022, the chief ended an investigative agreement between his department and the District Attorney's office when it came to investigating police use of force cases. At Wednesday's announcement, Lurie said Scott will stay on as chief for six weeks to help with the transition. Paul Yep will be stepping into the role as interim police chief. Yep is a veteran of the San Francisco Police Department who had worked closely with Scott for six years.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
SF Sheriff gets green light to resume using ankle monitors
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Sheriff Paul Miyamoto announced Monday that the San Francisco Sheriff's Office will resume using electronic ankle monitors for some accused criminals who are out of custody awaiting trials. The sheriff recently received a green light from U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit judges to utilize ankle monitors for defendants in the Pre-Trial Electronic Monitoring (PTEM) program. Judges also ruled in favor for allowing searches without warrants for defendants in the PTEM program. Miyamoto and the City Attorney's Office fought to uphold the legality of PTEM after a lawsuit was filed on behalf of three defendants charged with crimes. In 2022, the three defendants filed a lawsuit claiming that PTEM policies violated their Fourth Amendment rights. 'This new decision sets a much-needed precedent for protection of public safety,' Miyamoto said Monday. 'It allows the SFSO to adhere to its commitment to keep the public, crimevictims, and deputies safe, while allowing this critical alternative to incarceration. The PTEMProgram affords defendants an opportunity to remain in the community pending the outcome of their criminal matters, and it provides Superior Court judges with an important tool to utilizewhen making a decision regarding a defendant's release from County Jail.' SFSO PTEM is an intensive supervision program for criminal defendants who would not otherwise be released from custody pretrial by the Superior Court. San Francisco Superior Court judges decide which defendants are enrolled as a condition of their release from custody. 'In order to protect public safety, the Sheriff's Office must be able to set the rules for thisprogram it oversees and administers for pretrial release from custody of criminal defendantsoften facing violent felony charges,' said City Attorney David Chiu. Mayor Daniel Lurie said, 'This is about protecting families from violence. It's about making sure suspecting drug dealers can't go back out and continue to commit crimes while they await trial.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
29-04-2025
- CBS News
San Francisco Sheriff brings back ankle monitoring program
San Francisco officials are celebrating the revival of what they call a key tool in their pretrial supervision arsenal after a federal appeals court ruled that requiring warrantless searches for participants in the city's electronic monitoring program does not violate constitutional rights. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 decision last week overturning a lower court injunction that had barred the Sheriff's Department from imposing warrantless search conditions on people released under its Pre-Trial Electronic Monitoring (PTEM) program. The appeals panel found that the program, which allows defendants to await trial out of custody while being electronically monitored, strikes a reasonable balance between public safety and individual privacy when ordered by a judge following an individualized assessment. Sheriff Paul Miyamoto welcomed the ruling, announcing plans to resume full enrollment in the program, which had been paused for new participants amid the litigation. "We want to give defendants an opportunity to receive services in the community that provide them with a chance to succeed while awaiting resolution of their case," Miyamoto said. "And the bottom line, we want to make sure everybody is safe when we do so." But some say the program's conditions, including consent to warrantless searches, undermine the presumption of innocence. San Francisco Public Defender Danielle Harris argues that electronic monitoring is often chosen under duress. "If the choice is jail or electronic monitoring, almost everyone will choose electronic monitoring — not because it's a good option," Harris said. The controversy hinges largely on PTEM's "Rule 5," which allows law enforcement to search participants' persons, homes, and vehicles without a warrant at any time. The decision comes at a contrast to data that raises questions about the program's overall effectiveness. A 2022 study by the California Policy Lab found that 60% of PTEM participants violated at least one condition of their release, and one in five was rearrested for a new offense while under supervision. At its peak in 2021, PTEM had enrolled more than 1,600 individuals — a surge from its pre-2018 average of about 75 participants. Today, 98 people remain under electronic monitoring, according to the Sheriff's Department. Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman said he supports the return of electronic monitoring as a tool, but warned against relying on it for repeat offenders. "There are people who need to be held and held to account and should not be released unless we can safely do it and for some of those people the ankle monitor may have an additional level of safety or certainty, but we should not be using them to the same extend we were before," Mandelman said. Mayor Daniel Lurie said the program is about protecting victims, witnesses and the community. "This is about protecting families from violence. It's about making sure suspected drug dealers can't go back out and continue to commit crimes while they await trial." Meanwhile, Harris continues to call for more investment in community-based solutions that address root causes rather than relying on surveillance technology. "If we don't treat those needs, we're just putting a band-aid on it."
