Supervisor Dorsey proposes charter amendment to require ‘full staffing’ for SFPD within five years

Supervisor Dorsey on April 12 introduced a charter amendment titled the San Francisco Police Department Full Staffing Act, proposing to restore and fund a citywide minimum sworn-officer staffing level and to require steps to reach full staffing within five years.

Dorsey said a recent workload-based analysis concluded the city’s minimum staffing level should be 2,182 sworn officers; he said San Francisco currently has “just over 1,500” full-duty police officers and faces a wave of retirements. The amendment would reestablish a minimum staffing level and require funding to achieve preset staffing numbers within five years, along with a sunset of those funding requirements at year five. Dorsey told colleagues the measure would allow the city to pursue recruitment and retention investments (including bonuses and programs) and include “escape clauses” to accommodate economic downturns or budget emergencies.

Dorsey framed the proposal as a response to public-safety challenges he linked to understaffing, including open-air drug markets, retail theft, violent acting-out and fatal overdoses. He said resolving staffing shortages would “enable us to make a bigger difference and sooner.” He invited colleagues to collaborate on drafting details.

The transcript records Dorsey’s introduction of the charter amendment as a legislative request; no formal motion, committee referral or vote on the charter amendment was recorded during the recessed session on April 12. The measure remains an authored policy proposal pending committee referral and further drafting.