Statement: Why We Must Fund Police in San Francisco

Supervisor Engardio visits small business owners on Irving Street.

Statement by Supervisor Joel Engardio
San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting
February 14, 2023

Why We Must Fund Police in San Francisco 

City Hall must fund police in San Francisco to address a staffing crisis. I recently visited small business owners on Irving Street. They are asking for more police help but we have a severe shortage of officers. I also want to report that our beloved Sunset farmer’s market was recently hit by crime. A storage trailer was broken into and thousands of dollars of equipment was stolen. 

The police department depends on us to give them the resources to effectively do their job. The police station serving the Sunset has lost half of its officers since 2020. On any given night, only seven officers are patrolling an area that has a population of 130,000 (and it would be less officers if not for overtime). Those few and overstretched officers cover a huge geographic area from Twin Peaks to the ocean and Golden Gate Park to Daly City.

When officers are sick or injured, others have to work overtime. We can’t go a night without officers. Overtime funding is essential. That’s why I’m co-sponsoring Mayor London Breed’s police funding measure. 

We need to fund retired officers to walk beats as ambassadors and fill gaps. We must invest in our police department so it can retain officers and recruit more. We are short more than 500 officers for a city our size. Hundreds more officers are eligible to retire in June and many will. The last police academy graduated 12 new officers. The current academy only has eight cadets. We have a police staffing crisis because too few want to be a police officer anymore.

That’s why we must change the narrative about police in San Francisco. Our officers are diverse and committed to accountability and serving at the highest standard. Our police department is a model of reform and has been praised by the California Department of Justice for already implementing more than 90 percent of needed reforms. We need to let people know that It is honorable to be a police officer in San Francisco.