A community forum to discuss stop and frisk tonight has been cancelled, in the wake of Mayor Lee’s announcement yesterday that he would not be implementing the controversial policy.
“We will not be implementing the stop and frisk program, or variations of that, in San Francisco,” Lee said at a press conference yesterday that was well-attended by neighbors, faith leaders and other interested parties.
Before the announcement, a forum was planned tonight for a panel discussion about stop and frisk at the CCSF Southeast campus. It was organized by filmmaker Kevin Epps, known for Straight Outta Hunter’s Point and Straight Outta Hunter’s Point 2, and the Osiris Coalition.
“There’s still a problem,” Epps said. “But as far as what they had planned on doing, the mayor actually backed off of implementing any part of that.”
Instead of stop and frisk, Lee said, the police will use “interrupt, prevent and organize” (IPO). The program involves keeping tighter tabs and the city’s 200 parolees as well as formerly incarcerated people in general, using computer data to track and send police to high crime areas, and working with community groups to “liaison” between police and residents.
Many hope that the conversation continues, however. “Ed Lee needs to meet with some of the younger people in this community about how to stop this violence,” said Jameel Patterson, organizer with the Bayview-based Black Star Liner Coalition.