The outside area of San Francisco’s Main Public Library has become a regular meeting point between drug dealers and drug users, The San Francisco Standard reported Monday.
Ted Disbennett, a 36-year-old homeless man, told the outlet that he and others were forced to move from place to place since a drug crackdown began in May and that the library had become the most recent gathering place for the drug peddler and the addict. (RELATED: Blue City Only Issues Seven New Housing Permits In Two Months Despite Housing Crisis: REPORT)
The new ‘main spot’ for drug dealing in SF: Outside the Main Library https://t.co/HSvTXm0Bt3 via @sfstandard
— Ilan Hulkower (@IHulkower) April 15, 2024
“Everywhere else, they’re like, ‘keep it moving, keep it moving,” Disbennett told the outlet. “I think it’s horrible.”
“I don’t exactly know why it’s okay here,” Donald, a 32-year-old drug user, told the outlet. “This is like the main spot now,” the user acknowledged.
A drug dealer also acknowledged that the library had become a haven for illicit transactions, and said police were failing to crack down on the activity, the outlet reported.
The San Francisco Police Department’s (SFPD) latest large-scale crackdown in areas that already had a reputation for drug dealing like Tenderloin and UN Plaza. The SDPD announced that they arrested 42 people for narcotics peddling including 30 persons with outstanding warrants in one operation Wednesday, a press release noted.
“Our officers will continue to make arrests and hold individuals committing crimes accountable for their actions,” SFPD Chief Bill Scott said in the press release.
Accidental overdoses are in their second consecutive month of decline, according to the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s office, Axios reported. Sixty-one persons were reported to have died from drug overdoses in March compared to 66 in Feb. and 72 in Jan., the outlet noted.
San Francisco public libraries have also been the scene of recent protests by librarians who claim that their workplace suffers from a lack of security.
“There’s tension in the air when there is no trained security around to de-escalate situations,” Jessica Choy said in a press release by a union.
Michelle Jeffers, San Francisco Public Library’s Chief of Community Programs and Partnerships, had a different take that she shared with Daily Caller in an email. “Our branch libraries are much safer today than they were a decade ago,” Jeffers noted.