The No New SF Jail Coalition is a group whose goals were initially to stop the construction of a $290 million prison at 850 Bryant St.[1] The Coalition consists of "advocates for housing justice, formerly imprisoned people, transgender communities, architects and planners, children of imprisoned people, and concerned residents.
[2] Board President London Breed advocated for the cause, believing that instead of building new jails the city needs to focus on putting money towards programs that address mental health and addiction.
The history behind jail and prison abolition lies in the work of others such as William G. Nagel, Stephen Joseph Perrello, Julia Sudbury, and Rosemary Gido.
He believes "the immediate thing to do is call a halt to the building of new prisons, jails, and training school at least for a time, while we plan and develop alternatives".
[6] Nagel's past as a deputy gives him insight into the issues that building a new jail would bring as he has witnessed prisoners adapt to the situations in which they are placed.
In addition, Jon J. DiIulio wrote "Federal Crime Policy: Time for a Moratorium" which focuses on how juvenile offenders, drug offenders, and violent felons are many of the people being locked up in county jails, and that these prisoners do not need another jail, but instead systems to assist them with their problems and not perpetuate them further.