Supervisor Dorsey requests drafting of Hate Crime Reward Fund to offer informant rewards up to $100,000

Supervisor Dorsey on June 24 asked the board to initiate a legislative drafting request to create a San Francisco Hate Crime Reward Fund that would authorize the police chief, in coordination with the district attorney, to offer informant rewards of up to $100,000 for information that leads to the conviction of hate crime perpetrators.

Dorsey framed the proposal in the context of a recent string of incidents alleged or prosecuted as hate crimes, and said the fund should have flexibility because bias-motivated offenses range from vandalism to serious violent felonies. "This reward fund that I'm proposing will send a strong message to would-be hate criminals in San Francisco that our city is doing exactly that," Dorsey said.

Dorsey said he is working with Comptroller Greg Wagner on funding options and that the proposed fund could expand on SFPD's existing reward fund, which he said is currently limited to homicide cases. He identified early cosponsors including Supervisors Cheryl, Sauter, Mahmood, Guardio and Chen.

Why it matters: The drafting request seeks to create a new local mechanism to incentivize informants in bias‑motivated crimes. It would be structured to allow SFPD funding and philanthropic contributions and would require city‑level ordinance drafting and future votes to establish governance, funding sources, reporting and oversight.

Next steps: The item is a request for legislation; it does not create a fund. If the board authorizes drafting, city attorneys and the sponsor's office will prepare ordinance language and cost estimates for future committee hearings and a board vote.