San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon is partnering with a local grassroots organization to promote mediation of neighborhood disputes as an alternative to police intervention.
The low-cost mediation services provided by the nonprofit Community Boards of San Francisco provide counseling to try to resolve disputes between neighbors, landlords and tenants, and at the workplace and in schools, instead of repeat phone calls to police.
“When neighbors can solve their issues through mediation, it frees up the resources of our department to deal with more serious issues,” Gascon said in a prepared statement.
Gascon plans to meet with the group next Thursday.
