San Francisco police officials on Thursday laid out what they described as critically low sworn staffing levels at the department, saying that the vacancies have driven up call response times, wiped out preventative policing and overall made the city less safe.
As of this month, the Police Department employs 1,723 sworn officers — 459 fewer than the 2,182 recommended by a recent analysis. Police officials said the current figure doesn't account for the more than 100 officers temporarily sidelined for administrative or medical leave, and they predicted that staffing will continue to shrink due to retirements and other attrition trends.
Supervisors on the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee were receptive to finding solutions, supporting incentives like bonuses, better equipment and even affordable housing to combat a shrinking force.
District Two Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who called the hearing to discuss the causes and effects of the staffing shortage, said supervisors would take the presentation into consideration during budget discussions.
"We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the conditions in our city," Stefani said. "(We) must begin to meet the needs of so many that are calling, and so that we can do the preventative work that so many are demanding as well."
The mood of they day was a far cry from the "defund the police" movement that swept the nation less than two years ago, with dozens of commenters calling to support increased staffing and share personal stories about becoming victims of crimes.
During the more than two-hour hearing, police officials said the burden of a diminished workforce was felt throughout the department, including investigations, special operations and community policing.
Response times for all levels of calls have additionally slowed over recent years, including Priority A calls — those involving the most dangerous incidents — a trend police and city officials attributed to staffing shortages.
"Without meaningful investment in staffing, this trend will continue," Stefani said.
Police officials said the department is struggling to both recruit and maintain officers, and that many have been lured to other departments due to better pay, cheaper housing or what police view as a negative political atmosphere in San Francisco.
Further, police said, a wave of officers will soon be hitting retirement age, potentially doubling the average of 80-odd officers who leave the department for any reason each year.
Supervisor Matt Haney asked if the attrition is being evened out by recruits or officers from other departments making lateral moves to San Francisco.
Cmdr. Nicole Jones said the department, like many law enforcement agencies throughout the nation, is seeing a diminished interest in policing as a career, and far fewer people have been applying.
"We're not netting anything right now," Jones said. "We're losing consistently."
Jones said the department is asking for a recruiting firm to help attract applicants, and said a bump in officers' starting salary and better equipment, like nicer cars, could help sweeten the deal.
"We've had people say that specifically," Jones said of the patrol cars. "I just think there's a morale component to driving in a car that looks nice and isn't many, many, many years old."
Supervisors on the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee — Stefani, Haney and Gordon Mar — as well as Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who joined the meeting, seemed amenable to many of the suggestions.
Mandelman additionally floated the idea of subsidized city housing for police to help offset the cost of living in San Francisco.
"I do wonder if, particularly for younger officers ... the ability to live in a reasonably priced unit in San Francisco could be an incentive," he said. "I think having some nicer buildings or complexes where public employees might be able to live would be an interesting approach."
Police based their targeted staffing levels on an analysis published last month that indicated the department has almost 500 fewer personnel than it needs to perform its duties.
Some crime researchers, however, say the report relies on a number of assumptions that may overestimate or underestimate the number of police actually needed. The report also doesn't clearly state how an increase in officers could translate into improved public safety.
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