San Francisco city officials encourage residents to expunge old criminal records under new state law
San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju holds a rally outside the San Francisco Hall of Justice in San Francisco, Calif. on September 21, 2021 (Daniel Montes/Bay City News).
SAN FRANCISCO - A group of San Francisco supervisors, Public Defender Mano Raju and community organizations are encouraging thousands of eligible Bay Area residents to wipe out their old convictions thanks to a new state law.
Senate Bill 731, passed last fall, makes California the first state in the nation to allow people to permanently expunge old convictions on their criminal records.
To be eligible, people must be released from prison and finish parole and be crime-free for four years. Misdemeanor and non-serious felony convictions will automatically be expunged under the law, and people with serious felonies are able to petition a judge to expunge those convictions.
Over a million Californians -- and thousands of Bay Area residents -- will be permitted to seal the convictions from their record that may have prevented them from finding employment, housing and education. The hope is to make it easier for people to have a fresh start after a prison sentence.
"SB 731 tears down the systematic disenfranchisement and employment barriers faced by millions of Californians living with an old conviction record that disproportionately impacts people of color," said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of the advocacy group Californians for Safety and Justice. "Rather than keeping us safe, the thousands of restrictions faced by Californians living with an old conviction record make it harder for these community members to rebuild productive and full lives."
City leaders joined advocates of people with criminal records at a news conference in San Francisco on Tuesday to remind the estimated 25,000 eligible San Francisco residents that resources are available to seek expungement.
The San Francisco Public Defender's Office also held a clinic to help people with the process after the news conference.
"We cannot continue to believe that the path forward and the way to protect public safety is to continue to criminalize people for effectively making change," said Supervisor Shamann Walton.
"When you continue to create barriers for someone coming home, you are effectively setting them up for failure and pushing them right back into poverty," he added.
Supervisor Connie Chan said it's time for the city to "put our money where our mouth is," and fund programs that can support people who have done their time.
"The only way to really do this for the long-term and deliver public safety that we all want and deserve is to invest in it," Chan said. "Let's make sure that these individuals have the opportunity to be successful."
Alongside Chan and Walton, Supervisors Dean Preston, Hillary Ronen and Myrna Melgar were also in attendance.
San Francisco residents wanting to learn more about their eligibility for expunging records under SB 731 can contact the San Francisco Public Defender's Clean Slate Unit at sfpublicdefender.org/services/clean-slate or (415) 553-9337.