San Francisco employees ordered to work from home as crime wave makes office unsafe

Flower arrangements in front of the San Francisco building where CTO Bob Lee was fatally shot in April. Credit: Jeff Chiu/AP

Hundreds of U.S. government employees in San Francisco have been ordered to work from home because rampant crime has made it too unsafe to visit the office.

The Department of Health and Human Services told Fed Nancy officials Pelosi. A building designed to «maximize the use of remote work for the foreseeable future» due to «conditions» outside the building.

Various federal employees work in the office, as well as employees working for Ms. Pelosi, the former speaker parliament. House of Representatives.

But the area around the building, downtown, has become a haven for drug addicts, many of whom are addicted to fentanyl and other opioids.

In May, two men were charged with drug dealing. directly outside the building, in full view of the security cameras.

Cheryl R. Campbell, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Administrative Affairs, wrote that the work-from-home advice “should be extended to all [Western US] employees, including those who are not currently using flexible remote work options,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

< p>The move comes amid concerns about drug use, crime and public safety in the city.

The rate of homicide, robbery and auto theft is up more than 12.5% ​​this year compared to the same period. in 2022, according to police.

Meanwhile, city forensic data showed that 346 people died of accidental overdose in the first five months of 2023, a 40% increase over the same period last year. .

Tech companies exodus

Kevin Kiley, a Republican congressman in California, said the crime was due to «failed politics, radical politics and corruption in the community.»

«If California provides an indication of where our country is heading, San Francisco is offering an even stronger warning,” he said.

Experts believe San Francisco’s crime and homelessness rates were due to the exodus of tech companies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Elon Musk, the head of Twitter and Tesla, described crime in the city as «terrible.»

Many firms have allowed employees to continue working from home after the pandemic ends, while others have moved to other states. . The city's population decreased by 7.5% between 2020 and 2022.

Major retailers such as Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Anthropologie and Banana Republic have closed their stores and office occupancy is less than 75%.

One study found that half of retail stores in downtown San Francisco have closed since 2019.