As an Independent District Attorney,
John Hamasaki will work to:
Enforce Smart Public Safety Policies
Reduce drug sales. Investigate & prosecute the sale of dangerous drugs with a focus on dismantling large-scale drug organizations. Provide treatment for people struggling with substance abuse.
Reduce car break-ins. Revitalize the Crime Strategies Unit to crack down on car break-ins and the international organizations that facilitate the reselling of the stolen goods.
Reduce commercial burglary. Prosecute commercial burglaries while working to break-up organized burglary rings.
End the ability of dangerous criminals to buy their way out of jail. No one who is a demonstrated safety risk should be able to buy their way out of prison, and no one should be incarcerated because they cannot afford to buy their freedom.
Hold police accountable. Restore the Independent Investigations Bureau to effectively prosecute police misconduct, and work to understand and eliminate bias in policing.
Prevent crime through reentry support. Invest in reentry programs (housing, apprenticeships, job training, and education) to lower the numbers of re-offenders. Public safety is best addressed by preventing crime in the first place.
Expand Victim Services
Stop Asian Hate. Track racial attacks, vigorous prosecution with hate crime enhancements, expand language access services, invest in cultural competency training, build community engagement programs, hold offenders accountable with restorative justice programs.
Protect domestic violence survivors. Work with stakeholders to ensure that domestic violence policies reflect a trauma-informed response. Address historical failings of police to properly address domestic violence, including the failure to release victims’ police reports to the victims. Ensure that victims have a voice in their process.
Protect the LGBTQ+ community. Maintain transparent, regular lines of communication to the LGBTQ+ community to identify and address their justice system needs. Ensure that DA staff are trained to respectfully and fairly handle victims and crimes involving the LGBTQ+ community.
Dismantle Corruption and Regulate Corporations
Crack down on City Hall corruption. Expand the Public Corruption Task Force. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye while relying on the federal prosecutor’s office – it’s time for San Francisco to clean house by cracking down on City Hall corruption.
Stop wage and corporate theft. Increase resources targeting wage theft and white-collar crimes, which are under-investigated and under-enforced. Expand the Economic Crimes Against Workers Unit and build bridges with unions and other organizations whose working-class members bear the brunt of these crimes.