#ShutDown850

After  stopping a new jail from being built in 2015, No New SF Jails coalition has worked alongside city players to try to bring down San Francisco’s jail population in order to close County Jail #4 at 850 Bryant without constructing or reopening any new jails, expanding imprisonment through out-of-county-transfers, increasing policing or surveillance through electronic monitoring.

Why Should 850 Bryant Be Shut Down?

The jail at 850 Bryant is seismically unsafe and has been marked for demolition since 1996, yet there is still no plan to shut it down. People currently imprisoned in the jail have reported dangerous health conditions, including noxious fumes and sewage on the floors, for years.
Additionally, people locked up inside of County Jail 4 have been targeted by racist and anti-poverty laws that have been more strictly enforced with the City’s increase in policing in recent years. 
While there have been several policy changes, programmatic expansions, and some creation of new resources, such reform efforts have not resulted in a decrease in imprisonment and criminalization in San Francisco.

Some More Facts About 850 Bryant St & San Francisco’s Jail System

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  • About 84% of the people in SF jails are pre-trial cases and about 45% of people in SF jails have a bail set at $100,000 or more,  as SF County leads the state of CA in highest averages for bail. CA averages five times higher than the national average. 

 

  • It costs $258/day to keep a person in jail, while it’s only $40/day to provide a shelter bed

 

  • About 23% of San Francisco’s general fund goes to policing and criminalization, while the Sheriff’s budget grows every year.

 

  • In the sheriff’s own words in October 2018 – “850 Bryant needs to be closed”. All City supervisors who have spoken about this issue agree that the jail must be closed.

 

  • The city has been talking about its closure since 1996 due to earthquake un-safety, and city administrator Naomi Kelly announced in 2017 that the jail must be closed in 2019.

 

  • In January of 2017, eight major unions in San Francisco filed a letter to the City Attorney claiming that the city would be liable for injury or death in the case of an earthquake. Despite this, there has been no action or plan from city leaders to close the jail and prevent such a tragedy.

 

You can find FactSheets & Flyers for the campaign to #ShutDown850 here. 

 

 

We are building momentum for a jail-free San Francisco. Join us!