SF Sheriff's Department sees staffing growth for 1st time in years, crediting recruitment strategies

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- When he took office, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie promised to tackle the staffing shortage within the sheriff's and police departments. The plan, called "Rebuilding the Ranks," introduced new measures to hire and retain more law enforcement. It appears to be working within the Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Deputies oversee the county jail, but to say they are only custody guardians would be limiting their role in law enforcement.

"We want public safety to be paramount for people to know we are here for them, that we care about them, that their safety is number one," Assistant Sheriff Tanzanika Carter said.

Recruitment has been challenging in recent years and it worsened for law enforcement in general right after the summer of 2020.

That's when George Floyd was murdered by police and a call to defund law enforcement gained prominence. The numbers speak for themselves.

In fiscal year 2021, the Sheriff's Department hired only 16 deputies while losing 46 to retirements or people simply changing career goals. Every year after that, the Sheriff's Department has had a net loss of deputies. Except for this past fiscal year 2024-2025. Ninety-six deputies were hired and even though the department lost 49, for the first time in six years, they ended up adding 47 deputies to their roster.

"I definitely understand what it's like to be a Black person in this country, what it's like to be a woman in this country and one thing for me personally, I wanted to be the change that I wanted to see," said Deputy A. Williams, who was hired last year.

Despite the increase, they are still short about 180 deputies, forcing the department to incur massive amounts of overtime. Last year that department billed the city for nearly $27 million in overtime alone.

MORE: SF Deputy Sheriff's Association launches 1st-of-its-kind AI chatbot to help recruiting

Some want the overtime, others don't. In fact, their union compared the forced overtime to slavery.

"People are working a lot of hours and so we are doing a lot in recruitment so that we can mitigate that and get more people on board," Assistant Sheriff Carter said.

The new recruits have already gone through the six-month training academy, which gives them the chance to be out in the field rather than just overseeing jails.

Last year, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto said before the Board of Supervisors that giving them more options is a way to attract potential recruits.

"The trauma that we see in the incarceration environment every day are things that I don't want my staff to have to do for 25-30 years," Miyamoto said. "I would like to see them with more opportunities, other things related to law enforcement and public safety."

Deputy J. Ruiz, who's currently training, told ABC7 News he was attracted to the camaraderie of the job.

"We know a lot about each other, we talk to each other about everything and it just feels like I gained a second family," Ruiz said.

The Sheriff's Department is also having some success through its new recruitment website, where you can sign up and start talking live with a recruiter either by cell phone or text messages. This method seems to appeal to a younger generation.