City Government

OP-ED: City Needs Law Requiring Cell Phones to Be Equipped with a Safety Kill Switch

Published

12 years ago

May 7, 2014

By Supervisor London Breed

A few months ago, an 18-year-old woman—a 5-foot, 110-pound young girl really—was walking to her friend’s house on Eddy Street. It was 4 o’clock in the afternoon, when in broad daylight, an unknown man punched her in the back of the neck and, in the words of the police report, “snatched [her cell] phone from [her] hand.”

The young woman was left shaken, with a bruised neck and the vague, improbable hope that her phone could be tracked by its serial number. Her attacker made off with a fully functional stolen iPhone, worth somewhere around $200 on the street—the latest entry in what has become a lucrative global black market of stolen phones.

According to the District Attorney’s office, in 2012 more than 50 percent of all robberies in San Francisco involved mobile communications devices. According to the Police Department, crime is down across a broad range of categories in San Francisco. Homicide was down 40 percent in 2013 compared to 2012. Rape dropped 47 percent.

But auto break-ins and robberies continue to climb, and people like this young woman on Eddy Street continue to be endangered, because thieves know that smart phones and tablets are easy to steal, easy to re-purpose, and easy to sell for hundreds of dollars.

Our California State Senator, Mark Leno, has introduced legislation to combat this problem. His bill, SB962, would require all smart phones sold in California to come equipped with a “kill switch,” software that renders the phone unusable when it has been stolen.

The technology already exists. It can be implemented. And its widespread adoption will reduce, if not eliminate, the value of stolen phones on the black market. It will take away the incentive for a thief to punch a young woman in the back of the neck and snatch her phone.

I commend Senator Leno for his work on this issue, and I support him 100 percent. But in Sacramento, he is facing serious opposition from a barrage of well-funded lobbyists. About two weeks ago, SB962 lost in the state Senate by two votes.

I know Senator Leno is working hard to get the votes he needs, and I know he has made some amendments to the legislation. I am told Apple has now dropped its opposition. Hopefully SB962 will pass in California.

I want to ensure San Francisco is doing everything possible to support it, but I also want to ensure we have a back-up plan.

(This week), I am requesting the City Attorney to draft legislation that will ban the sale of any new smart phone or tablet that is not equipped with a safety kill switch.

As with Senator Leno’s bill, there should be civil penalties for sellers who violate the law. And buyers should have the right to opt-out of the kill switch feature if they choose.

If some sellers or phone manufacturers choose not to sell in San Francisco, so be it. Those who do care about public safety will have a competitive advantage in a lucrative local market.

I want to thank Senator Leno again, and thank District Attorney George Gascon for his work on this issue. I also thank President Chiu for introducing a resolution supporting SB962, which we will vote on today.

SB962 will be likely be reconsidered by the Senate this Thursday. The best possible outcome is for it to become California law. It would probably preempt or obviate my local legislation. And let me be very clear, I would welcome that preemption.

I want cell phone safety to be statewide, ultimately nationwide. But in the meantime, in the interest of public safety, and in case SB962 does not pass, we should act here and now.

And I want the telecom industry to know they are not getting out of this one. They cannot lobby their way past public safety concerns.

Sacramento does not act, San Francisco will. And other cities will follow.

Oakland Post

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Related Topics:robberies San Francisco Supervisor London Breed

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Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

Published

1 week ago

July 18, 2026

Oakland Post

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From Disparity Study to Solutions: Oakland Coalition and Mayor Barbara Lee Renew Commitment to Reform City Contracting

She committed to ensuring the coalition has direct access to City leadership by designating Assistant Deputy City Administrator Chuck Baker the primary liaison. Working alongside Deputy City Administrator Sofia Navarro, DWES Director Emylene Aspilla, Race and Equity Director Darlene Flynn, and other City departments, the coalition will continue advancing these priorities while maintaining regular communication with City leadership.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Present at the recent meeting on implementing recommendations on Oakland’s Disparity Study on city work contracts were (first row, l. to r.): Chuck Baker, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Darlene Flynn. Second row, l. to r.) Samuel Adams, Erica Astrella, Chadwick Spell, Cathy Adams, Stanley Cooper, Maria Wagner, Len Turner, Derek Barnes, Paul Cobb. Photo courtesy of Oakland Mayor’s Office.

Special to The Post

On June 30, a coalition of minority business leaders, contractors and others met with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to discuss the City’s commitment to implement recommendations outlined in Oakland’s Disparity Study and eliminate barriers that have historically prevented Black and minority-owned businesses from fully participating in public contracting opportunities.

Representatives of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California (NAMC NorCal), Construction Resource Center (CRC), and the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA) said the meeting represented an important milestone in a process that has been underway for several months.

On April 21, the Oakland City Council’s Life Enrichment Committee received a progress report from the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES), where Director Emylene Aspilla presented the coalition’s working document and outlined a collaborative implementation plan between the coalition and the City. That report established 30-, 60-, and 90-day objectives focused on five key priorities:

Reforming Local and Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) waiver practices
Strengthening prompt payment compliance
Improving procurement forecasting and transparency
Expanding contractor capacity building and business development
Increasing oversight, accountability, and public reporting

A series of working sessions was scheduled between coalition representatives, DWES, and the City Administrator’s Office to begin implementing those priorities but were temporarily delayed by the resignation of former City Administrator Jestin Johnson.

Rather than allowing that momentum to stall, OAACC President and CEO Cathy Adams requested a meeting with Lee to gain clarity on the City’s direction and reaffirm its commitment to implementing the recommendations contained within the Disparity Study.

Coalition leaders described the meeting as productive, candid, collaborative, and encouraging.

During the meeting, Lee spoke not only from her role as mayor but also from her experience as an 8(a) contractor and business owner, sharing that she understands firsthand what it takes to build and grow a successful company, employ a substantial workforce, compete for public work, and navigate the complexities of municipal contracting.

Mayor Lee also expressed her commitment to personally participate in future working meetings with the coalition.

“This meeting represents a renewed commitment to partnership,” said Adams. “Mayor Lee listened, engaged, and demonstrated that she wants to move beyond conversation and into implementation.”

CRC’s Len Turner said the roadmap is already in place. ““The City already has the evidence. What’s been missing is execution. …Now it’s time to deliver results.”

Mario Wagner, president of NAMC NorCal agreed that the next phase must focus on implementation, funding, and accountability.

“The coalition is ready to get to work. …The next step is ensuring these initiatives receive meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle. Just as important, the City must establish transparent reporting mechanisms that keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and accountability.”

Coalition leaders also acknowledged that while City leadership has indicated it is reviewing Local and Small Local Business Enterprise waiver practices, the community continues to seek a formal response regarding existing long-term waivers, including waivers extending 10 and 25 years. The coalition believes those waivers should be comprehensively reviewed and, where appropriate, rolled back as part of the City’s broader contracting reforms.

The coalition is also calling on the City to include meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle to support implementation of the Disparity Study recommendations and establish better methods and mechanisms to keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and transparent accountability.

The coalition’s immediate next step is to schedule a working meeting with Baker, Aspilla, Lee, and the appropriate City staff to review what has already been accomplished under the implementation framework.