(NewsNation) — Local authorities in San Francisco will soon receive additional help from the California National Guard and the California State Highway Patrol in their fight against fentanyl, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced.
“We are providing more law enforcement resources and personnel to crack down on crime linked to the fentanyl crisis, holding the poison peddlers accountable,” Newsom said in a release.
Newsom announced the new partnership last week after a surprise visit to the city where he toured areas that have been taken over by rampant drug activity.
The governor’s plan will bring together the San Francisco Police Department, the state’s National Guard and highway patrol, as well as the San Francisco District Attorney’s office with the goal of disrupting the region’s deadly drug trade.
It’s still unclear when that plan will begin or how many officers will be involved. The governor’s office says the new multi-agency effort will start after an assessment period.
SFPD officials are welcoming the additional help after the force lost over 500 officers in recent years. Those losses have cost the department tens of millions of dollars in overtime to cover shifts.
“These resources are needed, they’re helpful, they will help us do what we need to do,” said SFPD chief Bill Scott. “We make arrests day in and day out but it’s really hard to hold ground and we need to get it under control.”
Overdose deaths linked to fentanyl in San Francisco have jumped more than 40% from January through March of this year alone, the governor’s office said.
Those deaths have largely been concentrated in two areas of the city: the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods.