Gartner presents SFPD IT strategic plan; consultants estimate $4–6 million for major systems and recommend hiring CIO

Irma Fabular of Gartner delivered an overview of an 80‑page information‑technology strategic plan and a 16‑page slide summary to the San Francisco Police Commission, outlining a 3–4 year roadmap the firm developed with department stakeholders.

Fabular said the plan rests on three strategic goals: “to ensure that the department continues to focus on operational effectiveness and officer safety,” to “improve communications and information sharing within the department and externally,” and to “increase the department’s ability to manage operational performance.” She listed six initiatives tied to those goals: three foundational efforts (upgrading infrastructure, enhancing governance and decision‑making, and maturing service‑delivery processes) and three strategic projects (integrating records and case management, implementing an early intervention system, and increasing mobile access to data from patrol cars).

Commissioners probed whether the department has the internal capacity to carry out the recommendations. Commissioner David Campos asked, “In light of that, do we does the San Francisco Police Department have the capabilities to actually implement the recommendations that are outlined in this study?” Fabular replied that implementation will likely be a mix of internal and external resources and recommended creating stronger IT leadership inside SFPD, including hiring “a department CIO” and adding business analysts who can translate operational needs into technical requirements.

Fabular gave high‑level cost estimates for the largest strategic projects. She told the commission the integrated records‑management and case‑management effort would likely require about $4 million to $5 million in one‑time costs, and the proposed early intervention system was estimated at roughly $1 million to $1.5 million. She said the combined cost of the two major initiatives would run roughly $4 million to $6 million over the course of a three‑to‑four‑year implementation period, and that additional investments (for example, expanding mobile access) would need separate estimates.

Fabular and commissioners also discussed near‑term work already in progress: the department planned a desktop replacement effort to roll out approximately 550 new computers as an initial step to address aging hardware. Fabular cautioned against letting the strategy “go on some shelf,” saying strong internal and external champions — from the commission and the mayor’s office — would be important to sustain momentum.

The commission thanked Gartner for the report and requested more detailed project‑level cost breakdowns and implementation plans to inform future budget discussions and oversight.