San Francisco, CA – Today Mayor London N. Breed and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) announced plans to expand San Francisco’s Reserve Police Officer Program which would result in an expedited increase in foot patrols citywide. This will require legislation to be approved by the Board of Supervisors, which will be co-sponsored by Supervisors Catherine Stefani and Joel Engardio.
The San Francisco Reserve Police Officers Program has been in place since 1942 and was initially called the Police Auxiliary Reserve. Originally, the program was designed to allow for the City to be able to draw from up to 800 reserve officers to assist the regular police force in the event of a natural disaster, sabotage, or enemy attack. Their authority includes to enforce against violations of state and local penal law is the same as any other peace officer.
The San Francisco program requires Reserve Police Officers to work a minimum of 20 hours per month providing police services; the 20 hours includes four hours of mandatory, on-going training every month.
The Mayor’s proposal will require updating the San Francisco Administrative Code to allow Reserve Police Officers to be compensated for their work and would establish other eligibility requirements that are under discussion. If approved, the Mayor’s proposal will allow for the immediate deployment of the 30 Reserve Police Officers to high profile foot beat assignments throughout the City, and other duties. The goal is to greatly expand the number of available officers for patrol duties and would not supplant the Mayor’s goal of fully staffing the Department.
"As we work to address our long-term staffing needs, this program can help us to add foot beats where we need them in our merchant corridors,” said Mayor London Breed. “Getting more patrol officers out on our streets will help our small businesses, workers, and residents feel safe, and improve our neighborhoods across the City.”
“We want to get more officers on the beat as soon as possible,” said Chief Bill Scott. “Our department is understaffed, and while our officers have been doing an outstanding job with the resources we have, we will do everything in our power to give them some assistance. Expanding our Reserve Officer Program would do just that.”
Today, there are 30 Reserve Police Officers made up of retired police officers as well as members of the public who have passed all the selection criteria, testing and exam procedures, as well as the background security clearances necessary. These processes are the same as for a full-time regular police officer.
The key differences between a Reserve Police Officer and a regular Police Officer are the number of working hours and the level of training received; the level of training determines the scope of work that a Reserve Police Officer is allowed to perform. The work of Reserve Police Officers varies depending on their training, from working festivals and parades, to serving on patrols and doing other work similar to a full-time officer.
“The San Francisco Reserve Police Officer Program will expedite the deployment of officers to high-profile foot beat assignments, providing much-needed security in our merchant corridors,” said Supervisor Catherine Stefani. “It's a crucial step towards ensuring the safety and well-being of our small businesses, workers, and residents while strengthening our neighborhoods citywide."
“We love the retired police officer ambassadors who walk Sunset merchant corridors. They provide much-needed eyes and ears. But they can only call-in problems and don’t have the power to make arrests. Small business owners are asking for patrols with the full authority of regular police officers and expanding the reserve program allows for that,” said Supervisor Joel Engardio, who represents the Sunset neighborhoods of District 4. “We have an extreme shortage of police officers. A combination of unarmed ambassadors — city workers in yellow jackets, retired police in blue jackets — along with armed police reservists in full uniform can temporarily fill the gap. We still need to recruit and hire hundreds of new officers. But that depends on applicants knowing SFPD is a leader in reform, a noble place to work, and supported by city leaders.”
During the pandemic, applications for SFPD plummeted, hitting a low point in 2021. Like Departments across the country, this has led to lower staffing levels for law enforcement. Over the last two years, San Francisco has worked to improve SFPD’s recruitment strategies, provide financial incentives and recruitment and retention, and restore support in City Hall and the community. San Francisco recently saw its largest Police Academy Class in three years thanks to these efforts, and continues to work on its strategies to bolster police staffing.
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