Many residents in San Francisco believe that homelessness is out of control and that authorities need to do more to reduce the population of people living on the streets.
Telemundo 48 spoke to some residents and workers who say they have a problem with homelessness.
“There are nights they stay there and the next morning when we want to open the parklet they are sleeping there, and if you want to take them and they start abusing you and even Want to kill you to make them move,” explained William Hernandez of San Francisco.
Cases like these happen on a daily basis and many people ask the authorities to do more to control this problem.
“I feel like yeah, it’s gotten out of hand. For not seeing each other normally now I feel like they’re assaulting if that word can be used,” San Francisco activist Freddy Medina said.
And it is that assaulting a homeless person can have serious consequences.
“There are several charges, the first and most common is “battery” or touching or assaulting a person without that person’s permission,” explained criminal attorney Esau Herrera.
The maximum penalty for that charge would be six months in the county jail.
Herrera said, “But a charge that may also apply and is more serious is assault with force intended to cause serious injury to the victim.”
A person can spend up to four years in state prison for this charge.
San Francisco offers a digital app called 311 which is free and residents can report any problems. By using the app and creating a report, a group of experts will arrive within minutes to attend to the case.
Residents are asked to send photos and videos to support what happened, and to call 911 if it’s a life or death matter.
NBC48 contacted the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and they told us in writing that they recommend residents use the 311 app or call 311 or 911,
