The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today in favor of an ordinance that establishes a Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.
Supervisor Malia Cohen, who represents neighborhoods including Visitacion Valley, Potrero Hill and the Bayview District, said today that the task force would be formed to advise San Francisco city departments and policymakers on methods to reduce gun violence.
Cohen said the ordinance comes following the release of a city report that shows $208 million was spent on violence prevention in the city over the last five years. She said that right now there is no way to evaluate what kinds of violence suppression tactics are working and where improvements are needed.
She said among other responsibilities, the task force would analyze and monitor resource allocations and police response time.
Cohen said not only would the task force be comprised of department heads and school district officials, but also community members who have lost a loved one to gun violence or who have otherwise been impacted by such violence.
The support for the ordinance comes following a peak in gun violence, including four people killed in Hayes Valley on Jan. 9, a homicide last week in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood near the Sunnydale public housing complex and two shootings this afternoon in the Bayview District that killed two people and injured one person.
Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News
