From a Wall Street Journal story by Jim Carlton and Katherine Bindley headlined “Can San Francisco Save Itself From the Doom Loop?”:

Local leaders are trying anything they can to keep San Francisco’s struggling downtown core afloat, including paying retired, unarmed police to keep an eye out for trouble.

One is Mike Browne, who spent 30 years as a San Francisco cop and now patrols downtown as part of a squadron of “community ambassadors,” recognizable in blue shirts, who aim to help commuters and shoppers feel safer in and around San Francisco’s downtown commercial and shopping district. Homelessness, drug use, and nonviolent crimes like shoplifting and car thefts are commonplace in many parts of the neighborhood.