5 things new DA Chesa Boudin wants to change immediately about San Francisco

Chesa Boudin was sworn in as San Francisco's new district attorney Wednesday. Click through the gallery for five things Boudin wants to change about the city in his first year. Chesa Boudin was sworn in as San Francisco's new district attorney Wednesday. Click through the gallery for five things Boudin wants to change about the city in his first year. Photo: Chesa Boudin District Attorney 2019 Photo: Chesa Boudin District Attorney 2019 Image 1 of / 25 Caption Close 5 things new DA Chesa Boudin wants to change immediately about San Francisco 1 / 25 Back to Gallery

Newly minted San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin admits he has his work cut out for him.

"There’s an awful lot about our criminal justice system that is dysfunctional. Everyone who sets foot in a criminal courtroom will see myriad ways the system is dysfunctional," Boudin told SFGATE in an interview ahead of his swearing-in Wednesday evening.

Boudin, a former public defender, ran on a platform of progressive issues: ending the money bail system, protecting San Francisco's status as a sanctuary city, ending mass incarceration, among other issues. His candidacy even won Fox News' attention — though that had more to do with his family background than his policy priorities.

ALSO: 10 things you might not know about Chesa Boudin, San Francisco's new District Attorney

"In any campaign you make a lot of promises and you talk about a wide range of issues. When you’re elected, the work of accomplishing those goals has to be sequenced. You can’t do everything at once," he said.

So where does he plan to begin?

Boudin outlined five things he plans to implement immediately as the new DA. See them in the gallery above.

Of course, the DA's office is far from omnipotent. We asked, "What's one thing the district attorney's office doesn't have control over in San Francisco that you'd like to see change?"

Here's what he had to say:

"Homelessness, open air drug use and mental illness — which we all see in this city — are things we’ve been relying on the DA's office and the jails to deal with. That's really expensive, inhumane and ineffective. ... Right now the jail system is the No. 1 administrator of mental health services in the city, and so we’re waiting for people to commit a crime to get them help.

"Seventy-five percent of people arrested are drug addicted or mentally ill. We should focus on criminals that are in their right mind."

Alix Martichoux is an SFGATE digital editor. Read her latest stories and send her news tips at alix.martichoux@sfgate.com.