""This is just a great example of the work we wanted our Neighborhood Quality of Life Unit to be doing," Mayor Matt Mahan said. "In this case, the team stumbled upon a cache of stolen equipment," Mahan said. "It's not a crime to be homeless, but we expect people to accept shelter, housing services when they're available. And when they're not, to at least be abiding by our basic laws.""
"Unhoused Advocate Shaunn Cartwright said the bust highlights the larger problem of criminal street gangs using encampments as a sort of front to commit crimes. While she doesn't know who is at fault yet, she says the announcement of this bust may represent the city wrongfully placing the blame on the homeless. "The city needs to decide: are unhoused people all drug-addicted mental patients with no gumption, or are they criminal masterminds?" Cartwright said."
San Jose police executed an operation at a designated no-encampment zone at Maybury Road and Highway 101 on New Year's Eve and uncovered approximately $15,000 in stolen tools. Officers recovered and returned thousands of dollars worth of equipment to a San Martin plumber and arrested those involved. The operation was conducted by the newly created Neighborhood Quality of Life Unit, a priority initiative of Mayor Matt Mahan intended to enforce city codes and address homeless encampments. An advocate cautioned against presumptive blame on unhoused individuals and suggested the possibility of criminal gang involvement.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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