Board Hears Police, Fire and 911 Briefings as Residents Urge Housing and Diversion Instead of Bigger Police Budget

The Budget & Finance Committee’s second hearing on April 22 focused on the state of the city’s public-safety services. Chair Mark Farrell asked the city’s major public-safety agencies to present high-level budget and operational information in advance of the mayoral budget and invited questions from supervisors.

San Francisco Police Department leadership described revenue sources and a hiring plan that relies on a mix of academy classes and lateral hiring to rebuild sworn ranks. The department said the charter staffing benchmark of 1,971 sworn officers has not been met since 2009 and that multiple academy classes and recruitment strategies are intended to restore capacity. The department noted recent increases in property crime—particularly auto burglaries—and highlighted technology priorities including smartphone e-citations and expanded crime-data tools. The chief said some of the change in crime patterns reflects statewide policy changes such as AB 109 and Proposition 47, which reclassified some offenses and altered jail populations.

The Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC) briefed the committee on investigative workload and staffing. OCC Director Joyce Hicks reported that in 2014 the office received 728 complaints and closed 706 matters; median investigator caseload was about 24 cases, above a 16-case-per-investigator best-practice benchmark cited in an oversight report. Hicks requested staffing and IT enhancements (the OCC’s FY2015–16 baseline was presented at roughly $5.1 million with proposed enhancements to about $5.7 million) to reduce backlog and improve intake and investigations.

Fire Chief Joanne Hayes White told the committee the department is seeing a steady rise in call volume—driven largely by medical/EMS incidents—and that ambulance response-time performance spiked last summer (90th-percentile on some measures reached roughly 14 minutes). The chief said the city had hired EMTs, added ambulances and improved fleet reliability, and requested enhancements (the department cited an $11.6 million enhancement package as part of its budget ask) to stabilize EMS logistics and reduce mandatory overtime.

Department of Emergency Management staff described a substantial increase in 911 call volume (monthly call counts have climbed significantly in the prior four years). DEM’s dispatch team said its service goal is to answer 90 percent of 911 calls in 10 seconds; performance dipped below that goal during the surge but was trending back toward it. DEM also cited accidental smartphone dials, a possible migration of reports from 311 to 911 and daytime population growth as contributors to the higher call counts, and noted planned phone-system and CAD upgrades to support technology such as text-to-911.

During public comment dozens of speakers urged the supervisors to invest in housing, mental-health supports, diversion programs and community-based alternatives rather than expand police academy classes or fund new jail capacity. Speakers cited allegations of discriminatory behavior within SFPD (including racist text messages reported to OCC), racial disparities in incarceration and the disproportionate effect of policing on poor and homeless residents.

Supervisors closed by acknowledging the competing demands for budget dollars. Some emphasized a mix of investments—public safety plus social services—while others urged prioritizing restorative and prevention programs and pressing departments for data on recruiting, demographics and complaint outcomes. The committee continued Item 2 to the call of the chair for follow-up.

What’s next: Supervisors requested additional, department-specific data (updated hiring/timeline projections from SFPD; OCC caseload and staffing requests; fire-department fleet and paramedic staffing plans; DEM call-type breakdowns) to inform upcoming budget deliberations.