San Francisco votes 60-40% to give police more powers to fight crime and require welfare recipients to be screened for drugs

On Tuesday, voters in San Francisco approved two ballot measures aimed at tackling the rampant crime and addiction plaguing the city.

Measure E and Measure F, both of which were fervently supported by Mayor London Breed, surpassed the 50 percent threshold despite attempts from opposition groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union.



Early polling numbers showed that both measures were well on their way to passing, however, final results revealed just how popular they were.

When it came to Measure E, 59.9 percent of the 99,871 voters who cast their ballots said "Yes" while 40.1 percent said "No." Slightly more people, 100,434, voted on Measure F, with 63.3 percent saying "Yes."

For Measure E, voters were asked whether the city should "allow the Police Department to hold community meetings before the Police Commission can change policing policies, reduce recordkeeping and reporting requirements for police officers, set new policies for police officers to report use-of-force incidents and to engage in vehicle pursuits, authorize the Police Department to use drones and install public surveillance cameras without further approval, and authorize the Police Department to use new surveillance technology unless the Board of Supervisors disapproves."

For Measure F, voters were asked whether the city should "require single adults age 65 and under with no dependent children who receive City public assistance benefits and whom the City reasonably suspects are dependent on illegal drugs to participate in screening, evaluation and treatment for drug dependency for those adults to be eligible for most of those benefits."

Measure B, which did not pass, sought to set minimum police staffing levels and set aside funds to pay for officer recruitment. 

According to CBS News, Breed celebrated the results with supporters at a bar in the Hayes Valley

"Enough is enough," she said. "We need change."

Supervisor Matt Dorsey suggested the city was "in the midst of a voter revolt on public safety," and thanked Breed for her leadership.