A seismic shift is happening in San Francisco, where efforts are underway to shake out crime in the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods—this after nearly half a decade of restrictive policies and an exodus of officers.
Just as it has done many times in the past, San Francisco is again in a state of rebuilding. According to Ryan Kao, the Crime Strategies Division Director for the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), the agency is reeling from a one-two punch from the COVID-19 pandemic and a nationwide shift in perception of police.
“In 2018/2019, our police force was fully staffed. We had full academies four times per year and had to turn people away. But the effects from COVID and the George Floyd protests culminated in an unparalleled staffing crisis,” said Kao. Changes to laws and flagging prosecution were a further impetus, driving more officers away.
Increasing crime, decreasing police work
Like any big city, San Francisco attracts crime. According to Kao, in the 2010s the city’s crime level felt manageable despite the lack of access to technology because they had a fully staffed police force. But then in 2020, “There was a concerted effort to reduce the power of police. It was the perfect storm, but now people are realizing that the efforts were likely an overcorrection,” said Kao.
That perfect storm included societal shifts in how people viewed policing, the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as local and statewide changes in how crime was prosecuted. Kao said the result was devastating for SFPD which saw more than a quarter of the force leave the job, all while access to police technology was heavily restricted if not outright banned.
“As a result,” said Kao, “we have a confluence of crime going up and policing going down.” This caused many constituents to realize that they may have overcorrected in restricting the police. Now there is rising pressure to increase policing and the prosecution of criminals. Crimes like drug dealing, prostitution, car break-ins, and property crimes increased when the police force and prosecution decreased. In fact in 2022, the conviction rate in San Francisco was 37 percent of cases. After the district attorney was recalled and Brooke Jenkins was appointed as the district attorney, the rate rose to 43 percent, the first time it increased since 2016.
But it’s not an easy fix. According to Kao, it takes two years to recruit and train a new officer for the SFPD, and more realistically, five years before the officer hits their stride in efficiency. But not every officer makes it five years. In 2020, the SFPD had 42 retirements and 57 resignations. And it only increased after that. 105 officers retired and 46 resigned in 2021, and 115 officers retired and 70 resigned in 2022. That’s a total of 435 officers in three years.
Being a police officer was once a legacy position—one that ran in families. “Fewer and fewer officers have a family history [with the SFPD]. It’s largely just a job now, and a job is only as desirable as its working conditions. People will put up with a lot if you pay them well, but relative to other agencies and industries today, we’re not as competitive as we used to be.” said Kao. Also, lucrative positions in the private sector are a greater threat to retention than they used to be.
It doesn’t help that police officer recruitment is at an all-time low across the country. According to a Police Executive Research Forum survey, law enforcement recruitment is down 27 to 60 percent depending on the area. Additionally, resignation is up by 18 percent, retirement is up by 45 percent, and four of the largest departments in the country are down 5,400 officers.
Augmenting with Technology
But as criminals become bolder, communities demand more from their police. “What happens when you shed people but still need the same output?” said Kao. “I’ve got 10 cops, but I need the output of 20.”
The solution—technology.
“We needed some force multipliers. If I give my cops the right tools, that 10-person team can do the work of 20 cops,” said Kao.
As the Director of the Crime Strategies Division, Kao is responsible for creating and developing crime reduction strategies. This includes finding and implementing new technologies for the department and tracking statistics.
The department has deployed fixed security cameras, drones, and other security solutions. Recently, Mayor London Breed announced a new partnership between the city’s law enforcement and LiveView Technologies (LVT) to deploy mobile security units in crime hot spots like the Tenderloin. In fact, thanks to the new technologies, the SFPD recently apprehended a 23-year-old suspect after they stole more than $2,500 in merchandise from a local Walgreens. The SFPD used footage from the mobile security units and other public safety cameras to identify the suspect before deploying a drone to help officers pursue them. The suspect was booked in the county jail and charged with second-degree burglary, grand theft, organized retail theft, and resisting arrest.
“Our work around public safety is making a difference, but we’ve got more work to do,” said Mayor Breed. “We are not letting up on our efforts to make San Francisco a safer and enjoyable city for everyone, and this includes continuing to ramp up police staffing and giving our local enforcement agencies the resources they need to do their job.”
According to Kao, officers are loving the new technology. For example, the automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras currently have about a 70 percent adoption rate among officers. The cameras are stationed around the city and help direct officers during an incident. “Criminals may be able to outrun a police officer but they can’t outrun a radio. We can’t have officers everywhere, all at once, but if we know roughly where the criminal is, our officers can use their traditional police skills to go find them and arrest them,” said Kao.
It’s not just criminals that are taking notice of this new investment. Adding technology helps bring in new officers and retain the current ones. “People are happy and feel valued if they have the tools,” said Kao. “It shows that you are willing to trust your officers.”
It also shows you are willing to invest in their success. The lengthy process to procure any technology for a government agency requires people like Kao and his staff to jump through a lot of hoops. The officers and recruits recognize how hard the process is and see it as the department’s commitment to them. “Not only do you keep your officers, but they help bring in more people. Happy employees are your best recruiters,” said Kao.
Other police departments in the area like the technology too. “Crime is regional. If I can close a case in San Francisco, they can’t continue to Oakland to commit another crime. Criminals don’t care about county lines,” said Kao. It’s a win-win for everyone involved. The SFPD does their job successfully and the bad guy ends up behind bars. It helps secure their city and make it safer for residents, as well as helping the Oakland Police Department succeed and make their city safer too.
Deciding on Technology
The tech landscape for law enforcement has exploded in recent years. With hundreds of potential solutions and choices, it helps to be a student. Kao carefully examines each potential technology, looking only to implement those that are truly multipurpose. “I want the cutting board and the chef’s knife of technology, not just the apple corer,” he said. “If the tech hits multiple efforts, I haven’t bought one tool for my officers, I’ve bought two.”
Any new investment also has to help communicate to the citizens of San Francisco that the agency is prioritizing their safety while balancing concerns over privacy. “Balance means responsible and effective use of technology,” said Kao. “We show our citizens what that balance means by using technology responsibly, catching bad guys, and putting the right people in jail.”
The ultimate goal of technology is to make the city safer. “As you make crime harder to do and get away with, there will be less of it,” said Kao. “People are still jaded against police and technology, but they are opening up. It takes time to rebuild that house of trust, but we’re enforcing the law again and overall people are responding positively.”
