SF Mayor Daniel Lurie says public safety is still his top concern after 100 days in office
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Last year, San Francisco spent $88 million on police overtime. Let that set in for a moment.
Even before taking office, Mayor Daniel Lurie said he wanted to reduce overtime for police. He said so on Nov. 20, 2024 when he met with top members of the Police Officers Association in this building.
At the time, Lurie made promises, reiterating that public safety was his number one priority. This week, he said it still is.
"Property crime is down 35% from last year. Violent crime is down 15% and car break-ins are at 22-year lows," Laurie told members of the board of supervisors.
But let's be transparent here: Lurie doesn't deserve all the credit, since crime was already low toward the end of the Breed administration.
WATCH: SF Mayor Daniel Lurie sets sights on city's future after 100 days in office
It's been more than 100 days since he took office, so let's see if he has delivered on other promises he made to law enforcement.
Lurie said he wanted to reduce police mandatory overtime, which city officials agree has gotten out of control.
In 2023, the projected costs for police overtime was just over $25 million, yet it skyrocketed to more than $80 million. The Budget and Legislative Analyst's Office investigation found there was abuse and poor oversight. Last year, it more than doubled from a projected $41 million to $88 million.
Two years ago, Police Chief Bill Scott said that the department relies on overtime to fill vacant positions.
"The only way that we temporarily bridge that shortcoming, that gap, is through overtime," insisted Chief Scott back in March 2023.
This year, SFPD has said its overtime budget will be more than anticipated.
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Meanwhile, Lurie has already said there will be overtime monies for fiscal year 2025-26.
"We need to staff up SFPD. That is a top priority, and we had the largest recruitment class in eight years in January. We have more coming, but we need to do more," Lurie told ABC7 News.
Lurie is not putting a timeline on police recruitment. The department is still short around 500 officers.
"This is not something that happens in a matter of months. This is going to take a lot of my first term," Lurie said.
We asked the mayor if he still has confidence in Chief Scott.
"I don't comment on staffing issues," he said
But, as if to show support for Scott, last Tuesday, members of the board of supervisors honored him for his leadership toward reducing overall crime.
Lurie also said he wanted to increase personnel within the San Francisco Sheriff's Department and among 911 dispatchers from the Department of Emergency Management.
There, the goal is to have up to 160 fully trained dispatchers. Yet, there are only 126 of them.
This week, the head of Emergency Management put in a pitch for them before the board of supervisors.
"I've never met a group of people that more embody the word of public service than the 911 dispatchers," said Mary Ellen Carroll.
Besides SFPD, perhaps no other department is in need of more officers than the sheriff's department.
The crackdown on crime in San Francisco meant more people have been incarcerated, a 36% increase in just one year.
This time last year, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto told the board of supervisors that there were 195 sworn vacancies.
This week, he updated us on efforts to increase staff.
"Right now we're down to about 162 open requisitions for deputies. The promising thing is, with the current mayor's administration and commitment to public safety, we're challenged right now with our budget, but he has made commitment to make sure we are able to hire to fill those ranks," Miyamoto said.
