Emboldened by the recent Supreme Court decision allowing bans on homeless encampments, Mayor London Breed said Thursday that a major effort to sweep encampments was in the works and would start in August.

Thursday saw the fourth debate in the San Francisco mayor’s race, this one sponsored by the local firefighters' union. And homelessness is a pressing issue for local firefighters — not just because of encampment fires, but also because firefighters are the first responders for medical emergency calls made over homelessness and drug use.

So San Francisco Mayor London Breed used the debate to break some big news on homelessness. The Chronicle reports that Breed stated that a major crackdown on SF homeless encampments was coming in August, now that a recent Supreme Court decision has unshackled the city’s ability to clear homeless encampments.

“Effective August, we are going to be very aggressive and assertive in moving encampments, which may even include criminal penalties,” Breed said Thursday, per NBC Bay Area. This “criminal penalties” business is new rhetoric, and may indicate a shift toward tougher execution on tent sweeps, a shift that just happens to coincide with the run-up to an election.

“The problem is not going to be solved by building more housing,” Breed added, per the Chronicle. “Thank goodness for the Supreme Court decision.”

But why would the sweeps begin in August, instead of right away? Breed’s mayoral foe Mark Farrell took to social media to needle her on that.

The Supreme Court handed down the Grants Pass v. Johnson decision on June 28. But a year and a half before that, a federal judge in a separate case put a temporary halt on SF encampment sweeps because of a lawsuit from the ACLU and Coalition on Homelessness. Some guidance from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the city to start clearing some encampments again, but the Grants Pass ruling gives cities much more power to clear encampments.

Breed said the enhanced sweeps would begin in August because the city needs time to retrain employees with regars to the new legal rules. Per the Ninth Circuit's guidance, the city will need to "bag and tag" all unattended or abandoned belongings at an encampment, and store these for 90 days to give individuals a chance to claim them.

In a follow-up statement to NBC Bay Area, Breed’s office said “San Francisco is a city that prioritizes compassion and will continue to lead with services, but we cannot allow people to refuse services when shelter is offered and available.”

But putting this in political terms, the three previous debates did not make any significant news. This debate did make news, and Breed’s remarks were even covered in the international press. So London Breed made the post-debate coverage all about her, therefore, Breed was the clear winner of Thursday’s debate.

Related: Ninth Circuit Clears Way For San Francisco to Resume Encampment Sweeps [SFist]

Image: VARIOUS CITIES - FEBRUARY 20: London Breed, Mayor of San Francisco speaks onstage during the Inaugural Reception of the New Consulate General of Sweden in San Francisco at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on February 20, 2024 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images)