Supervisors Matt Dorsey and Catherine Stefani on Wednesday introduced a charter amendment that would establish a fully staffed police department within five years through a budget set-aside.
The San Francisco Police Department Full Staffing Act would appear before voters on the March 2024 ballot.
If passed, the amendment would establish minimum police staffing levels and create baseline funding to ensure standards are met.
The proposed legislation would re-establish a mandated police staffing level to 2,182 officers citywide. As the city increases its police presence, it would also create a budget provision to reach benchmark numbers, like having at least 1,800 officers citywide in the amendment's first year.
After five years, the unspent funds would be used to create a recruitment and retention bonuses fund, according to the charter amendment request sent to City Attorney David Chiu.
San Francisco voters initially approved mandated staffing levels in 1994, though the city has not seen a fully staffed police department for nearly 30 years, reads the request. Today, the city is short more than 500 police officers from the proposed minimum staffing level.
After the city's Proposition E passed in 2020, which removed mandatory staffing levels, San Francisco has seen "plummeting" police levels, reads the request.
