S.F. READIES TENDERLOIN 'DRUG-FREE ZONES'

Tenderloin Station police Capt. Gary Jimenez was on his way back from a
community meeting Monday when he walked up on a drug deal. So he pulled
out his badge and arrested the seller. He'd like to say it was solid
police work, but it was more like shooting fish in a barrel.

In the Tenderloin, making a drug bust is so easy a police captain in full
uniform can bag one on a stroll back to the office.

People say drug dealing in the Tenderloin is a problem, but that's not
really true. It went way beyond "problem" years ago. Today, drugs define
the neighborhood. And, as Jimenez says, with drugs comes violence. It is
that simple.

This week the city will begin a new Tenderloin program to establish
"drug-free zones" - temporary areas where police have broad powers to
break up groups suspected of peddling drugs.

The idea - pushed by the Streets and Neighborhood Workgroup, which
included business leaders, homeless advocates, police officials and city
leaders - is modeled after a similar effort in Washington, D.C. It is
likely to be controversial.

But here's the deal. Despite the objections, this idea needs a trial. It
does give a lot of leeway to the police, and it is likely to affect a
large number of people of color. But the Tenderloin needs bold and
dramatic action. This is not the entire answer, but it is a good step in
the right direction.

The idea of drug-free zones is to give the police a way to target the
areas of the neighborhood where anyone, even a tourist from Des Moines,
can spot drug dealing. When an area like that is identified, the police
chief will announce that it is a drug zone. Signs will be posted, and
warnings announced.

At that point, police officers don't have to see a drug transaction taking
place. They only need to "reasonably believe" that two or more people are
congregating to "use, purchase or sell illegal drugs." Officers can go up
to those people and tell them they are in violation of the drug-free zone
and must disperse. If they don't, they can be arrested.

Needless to say, this is not a popular idea in some circles. The San
Francisco Public Defender's Office opposes the zones because of the
potential for abuse.

"This goes too far because it allows the police too much discretion to
detail law-abiding citizens who happen to live in drug-infested areas,"
said Jennifer Johnson , an attorney in the Public Defender's Office and a
member of the Streets and Neighborhoods Workgroup.

That's certainly a concern. But in Washington, Chief's Citizen's Advisory
Council member Skip Coburn said it hasn't been a problem.

"In many cases, we find that people engaged in this activity do not live
in the neighborhood," Coburn said. "Or even in Washington, D.C."

That's also the case in the Tenderloin. Jimenez has shown that a large
percentage of those arrested for drug crimes come into the city on BART.

So will this plan wipe out drug dealing? Hardly. At best it will keep the
dealers, and those who are buying from them, moving.

"At least the Police Department will have a hammer to move them someplace
else," Jimenez said. "I am sure some areas will experience less traffic.
But the God's honest truth is we move them off one corner and they go to
the other end of the block."

The program has a plan for that, too. The chief has the authority to move
the drug zones to any new location where the dealers set up. It may not
stop the dealing, but it will keep them on the move.

The complaints are bound to come from those who think this is a first step
toward unfettered police authority. The leeway the officers get in D.C. is
extensive. The Washington ordinance states that someone may be in
violation if there is "information from a reliable source indicating that
a person ... is currently engaging in illegal drug-related activity" or is
a "known unlawful drug user." They can even be stopped if "such a person
has no other apparent lawful reason for congregating in the drug-free
zone."

Theoretically, that could be a problem. But thanks to their foot patrols,
police officers have a good sense of who the players are in the drug
drama. Jimenez said he's even noticed a lot more cooperation from the
community as the residents get to know the neighborhood cops.

Some behavior is exempt from the D.C. law, including collecting names on
petitions, campaigning, collecting community support and "discussing
political or religious topics."

Still, once this program gets underway, it will make the dealers in the
Tenderloin a little less comfortable.

As Jimenez put it, "Why does San Francisco have to be the best place in
the Bay Area to commit a crime?"

Good question.