San Francisco voters will decide on pay increase for veteran cops
SFPD officers to defer retirement in exchange of pay raise
San Francisco is facing a severe shortage of police officers with staffing levels dropping from 1800 officers before the pandemic to a little more than 1500. Now, the Board of Supervisors has voted to allow voters to decide on a charter amendment allowing officers with 25 years of experience to hold off on retiring in exchange for a bump in pay.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco voters will decide in November whether to allow police officers to earn additional pay by extending their service.
The city's Board of Supervisors approved a measure that lets the voters determine if experienced officers can delay retirement for increased compensation.
The city faces a police shortage with current staff levels decreasing from 1,800 before the pandemic to just over 1,500.
The proposed charter amendment would let officers with 25 years of service postpone retirement for a salary increase.
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Police Chief Bill Scott said the plan, which comes amid increased recruitment efforts, would help maintain staffing while the department builds its force.
"If we can keep those members around a few more years as we fill the ranks of incoming, then the department will grow and that would have a very positive impact," said Scott.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey voted to forward the Deferred Retirement Option Program or DROP, to voters.
"Our police department has never been as understaffed as it is right at this moment and what's terrifying is there's another 300 police officers eligible for retirement right now," said Dorsey.
Supervisor Hillary Ronen opposed the measure, arguing it wouldn’t retain mid-career officers while potentially straining the budget as some senior officers could earn up to $400,000 annually through what she described as "double-dipping."
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"We don't need to throw money away at 25-year officers who are just going to game the system and retire earlier than they would have because they can get an additional (pay), if they stay the whole five years, half a million dollars when they retire," said Ronen.
Mayor London Breed considers the plan a part of various long-term strategies to reduce crime.
"It's all of the above," said Breed. "It's not just staffing. Staffing is critical, it's important and we are doing the work necessary to get to where we need to get to, but let's be clear, there are other options that we are also using."
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins supports the idea, saying it will retain seasoned officers crucial for handling complex investigations and laying the groundwork for her office to prosecute effectively.
"As a police department they need officers and people in leadership who know how to investigate complex crimes," said Jenkins. "Part of that is retaining people who have that have been doing the job for decades."
The initiative, if approved by voters in November, would take effect next summer.