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Supervisors and analysts clash over SFPD—all‑data, civilianization and request for hundreds of new officers
Summary
The Budget Committee heard a detailed SFPD staffing request for more foot‑patrols, investigations and a mental‑health response; the Budget & Legislative Analyst urged civilianization and redeployment instead of hundreds of new sworn hires; supervisors requested additional data and agreed to accept BLA baseline recommendations while continuing discussion.
SFPD Chief Bill Scott presented a multi‑year staffing plan asking for as many as 250 additional sworn positions phased over several years to sustain expanded foot patrols, a centralized burglary unit, serial‑crimes and station investigation teams, Healthy Streets/psychiatric emergency response teams and other units.
Chief Scott said new staff would sustain recent crime‑reduction gains and allow proactive community engagement. The department described pilot results for foot beats and district‑level gains attributed to targeted deployments.
The Budget & Legislative Analyst and Controller isputed the scale of the request in some areas, citing a recent performance audit that identified surplus capacity and potential for civilianizing non‑patrol functions (BLA cited up to 200 positions that could be reassigned or civilianized, while SFPD disputed that figure and identified a smaller subset it considered suitable for civilianization). Analysts recommended a conservative approach while conducting a thorough workload analysis scheduled for 2018—9.
Supervisors pressed the department for data: how many recruits are in academy classes, projected graduation yields, timelines for new classes, and the long‑term cost of hiring. SFPD and the Mayor—udget office agreed to provide a table breaking down scheduled academy classes, replacement needs and multi‑year cost estimates; the committee accepted BLA baseline recommendations for the budget and left the larger staffing request open for further review at the next hearing.
Why it matters: The debate centers on long‑term public safety strategy, whether to fund significant new sworn headcount or prioritize civilianization and redeployment. The cost, pension and operating consequences of new sworn hires were central to supervisors' questions.
