Consultants propose cutting San Francisco’s 10 police districts to five to redeploy officers

Consultants from the Public Safety Strategies Group on Thursday recommended that San Francisco reconfigure its police district map and reduce the current 10 district stations to five larger districts as part of a plan to put more officers on patrol.

The presentation — delivered to a joint meeting of the Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety Committee and the Police Commission — framed the change as a way to reallocate administrative staff, even out officer workload and modernize operations so patrol officers spend more time in neighborhoods rather than at station desks.

Kim Craven, principal for the Public Safety Strategies Group, said the eight‑month review drew on dozens of community meetings, surveys and an inventory of facilities. She cited two headline survey findings: “76% of the community members surveyed … believed that more officers were needed on the street,” and “86% of the department members of the San Francisco Police Department feel that more officers are needed on patrol.” Craven told the hearing the consultants found wide variation in officer workload — from roughly 450 to about 1,100 calls per officer per year — and “facility conditions” at several district stations that make normal…