By Gavin Newsom and Kamala D. Harris
San Francisco Chronicle
Originally Published May 13, 2007

On any given day, take a walk in the Tenderloin, Civic Center or South of Market, and you will see the same problems that have plagued our neighborhoods for decades: drugs, theft, prostitution, auto break-ins and aggressive panhandling. Has the justice system forgotten about these neighborhoods? No. But the fact is that low-level offenders cycle through the system, at a cost to the city of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The result? Offenders don't get the life-saving help they need, victims lose faith in the justice system, and neighbors have to live in a dangerous and frightening environment.  The time has come to break away from the status quo. We owe it to the community, to the victims -- and to the offenders. Many people who are living on the streets are suffering from addiction and mental illness and receiving no treatment. Turning a blind eye and doing nothing is not compassionate -- not for those individuals, and not for our neighborhoods. That's why the two of us are partnering to launch the Community Justice Center, a collaborative, problem-solving service center with a court on site. Read more »