Should you “focus on barricading your home” or support putting unrepentant, repeat criminals in jail? This tough question, posed by the San Francisco Chronicle, highlights the absurdity of “criminal justice” in San Francisco.
The Chronicle’s piece puts a spotlight on two men with “extensive criminal histories.” Nicholas Tiller has been arrested 13 times for burglary since 2013. Tyler Howerton has been arrested seven times for burglary since 2019. They were recently arrested again for stealing bicycles while on probation.
Every bit of the story gets worse as you read it. The resident who spoke to the Chronicle asked to be identified by only his first name because he fears retaliation. Howerton has already been released from jail. And the two men were arrested at a place the Chronicle describes as “known to be the center of the stolen goods trade in San Francisco.”
To top it off, “Tiller even made headlines in 2016 for participating in a robbery of the Make-a-Wish Foundation.”
The Chronicle informs us that “for many policymakers, burglaries present a vexing challenge.” After all, it isn’t like they are committing murder, so who cares if your property is being taken by “methodical, repeat offenders with tools and expertise”?
Certainly not Chesa Boudin, the city’s district attorney who views criminals as the actual victims in our criminal justice system. That system “cannot resolve all of the major, structural problems — including poverty, a lack of housing, and widespread addiction that create the conditions for property crime,” his spokesperson said. So, San Francisco residents will simply have to live with the burglaries of their homes and businesses.
Those who don’t want to can either stop electing prosecutors such as Boudin, who enables career criminals, or pack up and find another city where officials actually enforce laws.
This is what progressive criminal justice reform looks like in its perfect form. It pats repeat criminals on the back and returns them to society because of “over-incarceration.” The stories that come out of San Francisco should be remembered in national and local discussions about criminal justice reform.
