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Police chief outlines hiring plan, technology and staffing priorities in budget update
Summary
San Francisco’s police chief presented the department’s FY2014–15 budget outlook, emphasizing hires to rebuild sworn ranks, technology rollouts including smartphones and e‑citations, a 50‑camera body‑worn pilot and capital needs; committee members pressed for continued academy classes and local recruitment.
Chair Mark Farrell convened the Budget and Finance Committee hearing Wednesday as the Police Department presented its proposed budgets for fiscal years 2014–15 and 2015–16. The chief said total all‑funds revenue for 2014–15 was given in the presentation as “536.995” with $45,200,000 identified as public safety sales‑tax revenue and additional state and federal grants supporting gang intervention, DNA backlog clearance and DUI enforcement.
The chief said salaries make up the bulk of expenditures—about 88 percent—and described work orders that assign officers to other city entities (airport, MTA, port, PUC, library, HSA, Moscone Center and DPW graffiti abatement). He reported progress on a multi‑year hiring plan intended to restore frontline staffing after a multi‑year decline and said the department now has roughly 1,700 full‑duty officers, with additional personnel in training or on leave. “We hired 183 officers” in one recent year, the chief said, and cited ongoing attrition and the need to sustain multiple academy classes per year to avoid repeating past staffing shortfalls.
Supervisors pressed the chief on the composition of hires and the future pipeline. Supervisor Scott Wiener reiterated the committee’s interest in maintaining three academy classes annually and argued the city may need staffing above the charter’s 1971 benchmark because the population and neighborhoods have grown. The chief responded that the department expects to move from three to two classes after full staffing is reached, but agreed the committee should review needs before that change.
The presentation highlighted technology and capital items: a public safety building nearing completion, a rollout of department‑issued smartphones (with language‑support and talk‑to‑text capabilities), plans for e‑citations, and a pilot proposal for 50 body‑worn cameras for plainclothes supervisors. The chief warned that data storage costs for body cameras could be “$75,000 to $100,000 a year” for a 50‑camera pilot and that state and department policies impose constraints on where footage may be stored or used.
The chief also discussed vehicles and fleet needs—recommending replacement rates to avoid higher long‑term repair costs—and said overtime has been managed down from earlier peaks though event‑driven surges remain. He noted violent‑crime measures and recent homicide counts: “On April 23, there have been 4 homicides in San Francisco,” and reported that three of four suspects are in custody.
Public comment included a resident who urged faster filling of 53 budgeted recivilianization positions and suggested the department pursue more federal grant funding.
After questions and public comment, the committee moved to file the police budget item; the motion was seconded and taken without objection.
What’s next: the Budget and Finance Committee forwarded the department’s presentation for placement on the full Board of Supervisors agenda for the April meeting cycle.
