S.F. residents want cops on the street. SFPD only staffs 1/3 of its foot beats.

"Boots on the ground are in demand. In community meetings and public surveys, San Franciscans repeatedly say they want to see more officers walking their neighborhoods. Over the years, the San Francisco Police Department has imagined a map of 52 foot beats, each covering a discrete part of the city. They may be a few blocks of a busy business corridor, like Clement Street in the Richmond. Or they may be geographic areas, like the plaza in front of City Hall."

"But you likely won't see officers in most of these designated locations across the city. As of September, SFPD was staffing less than a third of its foot beats - just 16 of 52, according to a public records request by Mission Local. At neighborhood meetings to discuss the selection of SFPD's next police chief held throughout September, attendees repeatedly said they wanted to see more officers on their block."

"Officers on the beat form relationships with community members and address quality of life issues from broken streetlights to homelessness, policing experts said. Research shows that reports of theft and assault decline when more officers are assigned to foot beats. It's an age-old sentiment: In 2008, 90 percent of community members who responded to a survey from the San Francisco controller's office said foot beats were necessary. Every few years, the city pursues policies that require more robust foot beats."

San Franciscans repeatedly request more officers walking neighborhood foot beats. The San Francisco Police Department mapped 52 foot beats covering discrete parts of the city, from business corridors to civic plazas. As of September, SFPD staffed only 16 of the 52 designated beats. Officers on the beat form relationships with community members and address quality-of-life issues such as broken streetlights and homelessness. Research indicates theft and assault reports decline when more officers patrol by foot. Historical and recent policies have sought to expand foot beats, including a 2006 Board requirement, a 2017 staffing increase, and 2023 local legislation. Local leaders announced additional Tenderloin foot patrols.

Read at Mission Local