S.F. Sheriff's Office sees largest increase in ranks in a decade
The office hired 96 deputies during the latest fiscal year, which ended Monday, a total that marked the highest number of hires in the past 10 fiscal years, according to an internal memo obtained by the Chronicle. The hires outpaced the number of separations for the first time since fiscal year 2018-19 and, taking into account 46 resignations and retirements, marked the largest gain in the last 10 years.
The surge marked what Mayor Daniel Lurie called a milestone for the office, which, like other law enforcement agencies, has struggled to hire and retain deputies, and keep up with attrition, forcing the office to rely on overtime to deal with a staffing shortage. With the latest hires, the office's ranks include 705 deputies, short of the 920 budgeted positions.
'When I took office, I promised to deliver the core services San Franciscans rely on — starting with public safety. And that's exactly what we're doing,' Lurie said in a statement. 'We still have work to do, but this is a major milestone — and a sign that our city's comeback is well underway.'
He added: 'When our sheriff's office is fully staffed, courtrooms run more efficiently, jails are safer, and deputies are better able to support neighborhoods across the city.'
In an effort to prioritize public safety, Lurie in May signed an executive order that outlined steps intended to beef up the ranks within the city's police department and sheriff's office. The order calls on the sheriff's office to create a program to rehire deputies who recently retired. Other actions include the creation of a group of police and sheriff's leaders who will look at opportunities to partner on investigations and patrol duties.
Increasing the ranks within the police department and sheriff's office, however, is expected to remain a difficult task for the city, as both agencies face a shortage of about 700 officers and deputies combined.
Lurie and Sheriff Paul Miyamoto previously said that beefing up the agencies' ranks would allow them to cut down on overtime, avoid burnout among deputies and improve response times. A recent audit found that SFPD's overtime spending surged from $52.9 million in 2018 to $108.4 million in 2023.
The increase in the ranks within the sheriff's office in the latest fiscal year marked the first gain since Miyamoto took office in 2020, boosting its staffing levels to 705 deputies.
'Our dedicated members have kept everyone safe through overtime and commitment to the community and each other while below staffing levels,' Miyamoto said in a statement. 'In my tenure as sheriff, we have always prioritized recruiting and staffing our ranks to levels that will reduce the need for overtime and the sacrifices of our members.'
The mayor's office attributed the staffing boost to changes intended to speed up the hiring process, including the hiring of additional contractors and retired deputies who assist with background investigations. In January 2024, the sheriff's office also grouped a written exam with an interview and physical agility test for recruits to complete all three steps on the same day.
Although Lurie implemented a hiring freeze on his first day in office to close the gap on a massive budget shortfall, the mayor has given the sheriff's office the OK to fill vacancies, his office said.
Lurie's directive is the latest effort to boost staffing. Under former Mayor London Breed, San Francisco became the city with the highest starting pay for new officers in the Bay Area. The city also approved a contract that gave officers retention raises.
With the boost to its ranks, the sheriff's office joins other agencies that turned a corner in recent years with staffing challenges. A 2014 national survey of 214 law enforcement agencies found that several of them hired more officers in 2023 than in any of the previous four years, according to the Police Executive Research Forum.
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