SFPD response times for small crimes still slow, and it may not get better anytime soon
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Earlier this year, San Francisco reported that property crime was down significantly. The numbers say that, but some people say they have stopped reporting "smaller" crimes because the police take so long to respond. Many others don't report crimes because they feel nothing will be achieved.
For example, it's Monday mid-morning, we captured what store workers tell us is a typical occurrence at the Walgreens on Market and 9th Street in San Francisco.
An employee is on the phone with a 911 dispatcher to report the incident while another employee yells at the woman.
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The two employees are now describing what's happening while on the phone.
She continues to put items in her bag despite knowing that she's being recorded on a cellphone and that the incident is being reported to 911. She then calmly walks out of the store.
When this crime happened the security officer was at lunch.
We wanted to talk to them, so we returned a few days later and interviewed security.
Lyanne Melendez: "Have you seen this woman before?
Guard: "All the time." Usually it's everyday, every other day.
Lyanne: "What does she do when she comes in?"
Guard: "They just usually come through the aisles and fill up and leave."
Lyanne: "Is there anything you can do about it?
Guard: "No, they don't let us touch them anymore."
Lyanne: "How long does it take police to respond?"
Guard: "They don't respond."
And shoplifters know it.
"They are in and out of the store in two or three minutes and they are out the door and by the time the store reports that, people are long gone," explained David Burke, SFPD Public Safety Liaison for District 8.
Even after the store reports it, police admit it takes them too long to respond.
Here's the data on the police department's response time when dealing with non-violent crimes such as a burglary.
So far this month, it has taken police almost 30 minutes to respond. The target is 20 minutes. The last time they met that goal was in the first four months of the COVID pandemic, when shelter-in-place orders were in effect.
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Police say they may not meet that goal for years to come because they are about 500 officers short.
The truth is that SFPD has struggled for years to recruit new officers and that was even before the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 when there was a call nationwide to defund the police.
Still, In San Francisco, in August 2020, some lawmakers called for cuts to police funding and the cancellation of the upcoming four police academies.
"I would actually propose to eliminate all four," said former San Francisco Supervisor Sandra Fewer back in August 2020.
"It's about the system that is rotten to its core," added San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen during that Aug. 20, 2020 meeting.
VIDEO: I-Team fact checks SFPD response times after residents express concern
Even the mayor initially agreed that changes had to be made but when property crimes escalated, London Breed took a difference stance.
"We will expand recruitment strategies and work to retain officers," said Breed in Dec. 2021.
Even that supervisor who called for defunding the police, later complained that her district was lacking in law enforcement officers.
"I've been begging this department to give the Mission what it deserves in terms of police presence all year long and I've been told time and time again that there are no officers," expressed Ronen in February 2023.
In the end, the police department's budget was never cut but police say the rhetoric did lasting damage.
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Recruitment has been a challenge, even when earlier this month, the mayor and the police chief welcomed its largest police academy class since 2018.
For people who have been victims or have witnessed thefts, there is fatigue and resignation that little will be done to curb it from happening again.
We caught another man who was apparently stealing from a Walgreens in the Noe Valley neighborhood.
It wasn't until we began recording that the employee offered to contact police.
"There is that psychological thing when if you feel 'well if they aren't going to come, or they're going to come in an hour from now, I'm not going to bother,' but the police department, we don't know this is happening if people aren't making reports, then we're not aware that this is going on," added Burke.
Police are also counting on new technology to help them when going after people through Prop E. This was approved by voters last March. Police will now have license plate readers and drones at their disposal.
