Mayor proposes street team to respond to wellness checks instead of police
This proposal is part the City’s effort to “implement alternatives to police responses to non-violent calls.”
One of the highest number of calls San Francisco police officers respond to are “well-being checks,” according to the city’s data close to 18,000 calls in 2019.
“The law enforcement officer would find out that they actually need medical care or they are experiencing a behavioral emergency,” said Lieutenant Jonathan Baxter with the San Francisco Fire department.
Monday, Mayor London Breed announced a proposal for a wellness response team that would work alongside the current street crisis response unit. This team will focus only on wellness checks.