Loitering going Forward

Some comments on the state of entertainment in San Francisco.........

The closing of Whisper will help the immediate neighborhood enormously.  Half as many persons dumped out at 2 AM will mean half as many problems; but that is only the start.  I have called for a meeting of staff and Circolo so that we can get on the same page about the expectations that we and the neighborhood have for their staff, security and patron behavior.  And now we will not have any finger pointing between the venues.

Yes, the loitering law will be a help in very specific situations, but ONLY if we get training to the SFPD and the Security teams at the clubs.   Otherwise, this will be just another law that will be a low priority in the face of violent behavior.  We need to show the PD and venue staff the tool that this new law  can be in preventing problems.   That requires knowledge about what the legislation can do and training on the right way to use it.  I wish I had faith that the SFPD would do this training without encouragement, but I know that without motivation and education, this law will go un-used. 

The value of this law is in the power to identify potential troublemakers before they commit a crime.  We feel that if a potential troublemaker has been identified by the SFPD and there is a record of them having been “on the scene” the probability of them committing a crime are dramatically reduced.  But all of this is dependent on a partnership developing between the SFPD and the Nighttime Industry Teams.  Right now, the relationship is at a pretty low point, we have high hopes that the new chief will come in with a mandate everyone work to mend that fence; then we will see some real progress for us all.

The companion legislation, amendments to 1060 and 1070, are still stalled as a result of SFPD “concerns”.   These two pieces of law are important because they mandate an update to the communication system between the Entertainment Commission and the permitted venues.  Currently, if we inherited the venue’s permit from the police department (and that is over 300 of the permits we have) then we have NO contact information that is current.  No email, no web address and no cell phone.  As you can imagine, with only three staff, 350 permanent permitted venues and over 300 one day events, our staff is not able to get to everyone unless they become a problem.  That is a BAD system.  The legislation requires that they contact us.

 

The pending legislation calls on each permitted venue to update their contact information with the commission staff and submit a security plan.  Getting that updated information to the commission will become a law and we can then use the antiquated systems in City Hall to get the venues to contact us and give us the updates.

 

With a simple way to contact the venues and current information about the security plans and staff that are responsible for security and management, we can take them in groups of 25 and schedule trainings at the commission so that permit holders are informed of their responsibilities under the law.  A huge undertaking, but the needed first steps in gaining venue compliance and starting the education of these owners and managers.

 

Then we need to create and codify minimum security training standards.  The ABC has abandoned their only training for license holders, the LEAD training, and there is no other training available.  Pitiful example of the reality we inherited and a glaring opportunity for someone to step in and fix.  We need to set standards for security and venue training and then create compliance models, encourage education classes to be formed and ultimately certify training of staff.  Once we get them all trained we then need a yearly system of updating the training.

 

The task is daunting, but laden with opportunity for entrepreneurs to take some of the burden and get this city dusted off and once again an example of how to do it right.  But we have a lot of work to do…..This is probably more than you wanted, but it is only a start.  I look forward to working together in whatever way you see appropriate.  My door is always open.  Terrance.