Pedestrians stroll alongside the sting of a sidewalk to keep away from tents and sleeping luggage, on April 13, 2020, within the tenderloin space of San Francisco.

Ben Margot/AP

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Ben Margot/AP

Pedestrians stroll alongside the sting of a sidewalk to keep away from tents and sleeping luggage, on April 13, 2020, within the tenderloin space of San Francisco.

Ben Margot/AP

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is directing the California Highway Patrol and National Guard to help San Francisco authorities in combating the fentanyl disaster within the metropolis.

The two businesses can be partnering with the native police division and the district legal professional’s workplace to try to stem trafficking of the lethal artificial opioid.

“Two truths can co-exist at the same time: San Francisco’s violent crime rate is below comparably sized cities like Jacksonville and Fort Worth — and there is also more we must do to address public safety concerns, especially the fentanyl crisis,” Newsom stated in a press statement on Friday.

The 4 businesses are anticipated to “crack down” on crimes linked to fentanyl and improve legislation enforcement presence in public areas. However, Newsom’s workplace vowed that the operation is not going to goal these with drug addictions and as a substitute give attention to drug suppliers and traffickers.

CHP will help native police in drug trafficking enforcement in key areas of town, together with the Tenderloin district, the place Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in December 2021 over crime and drug overdoses.

Meanwhile, the California National Guard will supply assist in analyzing drug operations, with a selected give attention to fentanyl trafficking rings.

Newsom’s announcement didn’t embrace particulars on the variety of personnel concerned, funding and what enforcement will appear like. The governor’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to NPR’s request for a remark.

The multiagency effort comes as San Francisco grapples with an alarming rise in deaths linked to fentanyl, a drug identified for being stronger and deadly than heroin.

In 2021, 474 folks died from fentanyl-related overdoses within the metropolis. Between January and March of this 12 months, 200 folks died from unintended drug overdoses, with a overwhelming majority of deaths involving the artificial opioid, in accordance with the San Francisco Chronicle.

Matt Dorsey, a San Francisco supervisor, thanked Newsom on Twitter for offering town “much-needed state resources to disrupt, dismantle and deter brazen open-air drug markets.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener stated he additionally welcomed the coordinated effort, but additionally famous that the governor vetoed his laws to create a pilot program for secure consumption websites within the metropolis, the San Francisco Standard reported.