DPH outlines departmentwide security overhaul; commissioners press Sheriff role and staffing alternatives

Basil Price, director of security for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, told the Health Commission the department completed security assessments for roughly 60 facilities and will roll out a DPH-wide security program beginning in July.

Price said assessments classified sites as high, moderate or low risk after reviewing vulnerabilities and existing countermeasures. "Bottom line, the objective is to actually have an effective, cost effective security program, again, that we can standardize and then integrate throughout the network," he said. The master plan would prioritize access control, alarm systems (duress and high-risk patient alarms) and, later, CCTV.

Price also reported initial performance metrics at San Francisco General Hospital, covering July through September, where the new program met four of nine measured metrics in its first reporting period. He said the department is expanding crisis-intervention training and developing a threat-management process to reduce workplace violence and to guide when law enforcement should be involved.

Commissioners pressed Price on budget and staffing questions, asking whether electronic systems could reduce reliance on deputy sheriffs and whether the department should pursue contracted security or a mixed model using cadets and system automation. Price said some up-front capital investment in electronic systems could yield long-term labor savings, and that additional staff recommendations were mainly tied to the new SFGH building and to electronic systems administration.

The debate included multiple practical questions and policy constraints: commissioners asked for a total-security-expenditure analysis, and staff reminded the commission that prior attempts to contract out these services had been rejected by the Board of Supervisors in the past. Price said his team has tracked 51 incidents of physical force in the first quarter of his reporting period and is instituting weekly security leadership meetings at SFGH and plans to expand similar processes at Laguna Honda and clinics.

Commissioners requested a follow-up report on implementation and suggested the commission consider, during upcoming budget deliberations, whether to propose a pilot, an RFP or to seek Board of Supervisors authority to explore contracting alternatives. Director Garcia and commissioners said they would bring back additional analysis during the budget process and recommended another progress report in about six months.

The presentation and extended Q&A did not include a formal vote; the commission recorded appreciation for the report and agreed on follow-up steps.