Keep on sitting. Keep on lying.
The ban on the behavior on public sidewalks citywide - approved by voters in November's election - has been temporarily delayed because of a lag in the police department's ability to get enforcement up and running.
One of the problems has been the department's inability to track warnings handed out to sitters or liers (not liars, though enforcement of that at City Hall would be nice, wouldn't it?).
The sit/lie ban mandates that citations be given only if the person has been warned to stand up by a police officer first. But the department wants to ensure that the initial warnings are tracked in its system so the next time somebody is found sitting or lying, they can be cited right away. The maximum penalty is a $500 fine and 30 days in jail.
"The warning is per-person, not per incident," explained Lt. Troy Dangerfield, a police spokesman. "A week later, if we see you, we don't have to give you a warning again. ... If I warn you today, that is good for the rest of your days."
Dangerfield said the department is crafting warning forms and determining how to manually or through its computer system track that a warning was given. The department is also gathering information on social services to include on the written warnings.
Dangerfield said training of police officers on how to enforce the sit/lie ban - and to use discretion when handing out citations - is taking longer than expected. A 20-minute training video is being shown at all district stations, laying out the specifics such as hours of enforcement being from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. But the trainers are having to double-back if some officers were absent.
Technically, the sit/lie ban - and everything else approved by voters in November - became law 10 days after the Board of Supervisors declared the results of the election in December, according to elections chief, John Arntz.
But when the police department actually starts enforcing it is another matter. Interim Police Chief Jeff Godown said the official start date will probably occur in a matter of weeks rather than months.
"I'm in no hurry," he said. "I want to make sure the training is done right. ... I don't think there will be a lot of citations handed out, but it's one of those things that we'll just have to see how it works."
Jennifer Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said she's pleased the department is even discussing how warnings will work. In the past, she said, some officers haven't bothered with warnings before citing people for breaking similar laws like the ban on aggressive panhandling.
That said, her organization is still banding with others to prepare a court challenge to the sit/lie ban.
