>> >> >> >> >> >> good morning, everybody. thank you for being here this morning. we are delighted for the reason that we are here this morning and that is to announce progress on our recruitment strategies. we have a class of 50 recruits which is the largest class that we've had since 2018. before i go any further, i have some thank yous that i need to say. first of all, i would like to

say thank you to our mayor, london breed, because in doing the things that have come to fruition have not been understated. also we have the president of the police officers association and i would like to thank her too because it takes a lot of pieces to get this involved on recruitment. as you know there has been an issue with police and public safety and we have been expressing this and getting applicants and into the academy classes. in the last few years, we have had as low as nine people graduating. that has been the lowest in many

years. to have 50 is a very big deal. thanks to the mayor's program and lieutenant and the contract that our officers have, it is within of the most competitive contracts out there and the salaries and wages attracts people and also we were losing a lot of officers after 2020, the pandemic and everything that happened in the aftermath of the murder of george floyd. we were losing a lot of people and we had to come up with ways to retain those officers and we offered incentives to have that officer stick around. we have now less people leaving the department, and on top of that, our lateral hires are increasing

steadily because of these incentives. the san francisco police department and sfpd is now where people want to come with and this happened because of hard work, because of this mayor and the department working in conjunction with both of them and the board and others. also the momentum for this department is going through the roof. our morale is going up. it's not perfect, let me be clear about that. but thing are so much better than they were two or three years ago. with that in mind, that's what got us our 50 recruits. in talking about our recruitment efforts, we want to hire people from this city but also we are looking nationwide and recruiting people from across this country to find candidates for this city. we have cut the timeline that it takes to get through the

background process. we have hired a whole lot of retired former police officers to get the background done in a timely fashion. as i sit here and stand here today, we have almost 500 applicants in the background process. the next class should be just as healthy. the next class should be just as robust and we have the next class ready to start at the beginning of next year. things are looking up and as far as the process, we are streamlining the process so when we have candidates in the pool, we process them as quickly as possible. and we are getting better and we are participating in the 30 x 30 initiative. this department is open to everyone but we also need to hire more women. we have 15% of women in this

department and our goal is to get it up to 30% within the next year. that's a very aggressive goal but with the partnerships we have, we will make that goal as well. this is a wonderful day for us. this is a world-class city, this is a world-class department and we want to live up to that expectation that this is world-class, and with that, again, i thank the mayor, but you should hear the record from her. mayor breed: thank you, chief scott. this has been a long time coming and it has been a lot to get us to this point. i know people want safety in san francisco. i'm excited that crime is lwer

than it has been in a decade because we are more importantly working together and the district attorney is also a part of this. our law enforcement in san francisco are working collaboratively to make sure that we have arrest and we hold people accountability. that has been the biggest difference and a long time coming and very difficult journeying. this is very exciting and very promising. more importantly as what we are finding as chief scott mentioned is working with the police officers association and lieutenant tracy mccrey, we wanted to dig deep and understand what are the challenges that our officers face, and because of the contract that was negotiated by my office, we are now competitive especially in the bay area when the chief talks about laterals, he's talking

about people, police officers who are leaving other jurisdictions to come work for san francisco. he's talking about people who believe that not just because of our pay, but because we are finally providing our officers with 21st century technology, with the tools they need to do their job. proposition e passed by the voters this past march came by me for our officers to be able to use drones and other tools and we are finally using it and it is delivering significant results and we are using this technology for reporting and making the department more efficient. and on top of that, we have in some of our reforms removed the responsibilities that police have with those struggling with mental illness and wellness

checks and we have made some adjustments so our officers can focus on their work and because of all of this, we are seeing the results that we are seeing. i do want to make it very clear that we understand that if people, the numbers say one thing, but if people don't feel safe, we of course have more work to do. i want to be also very clear that we know no matter what, this is a major city and crime happens. but the difference is, when something happens, our officers are there. and this new class of 50 adds to an existing class putting that number over 80 people currently in the academy, and with our new recruits coming online, we expect to be fully staffed in this department by 2026. taking into consideration people who are also retiring, and also in some cases those

retirees are coming back and providing assistance as ambassadors in walking the beat and in a contract practice where we have made things easier. when you are dealing with a complex city and complex situation, it takes an understanding of how this stuff works in order to deconstructive to get to yes and where we have worked together to get this in a place that we can have the results that we are proud of. and we are thankful that they are choosing san francisco as that option, and we are so excited and proud. the chief mentioned our 30 x 30 plan, a plan to bring 30% women to the police department by 2030. this class has 20% more women in the department and we are doing more to recruit.

i also want to express how excited i am about a lot of the changes around violent crime with this department. we anticipate, we know that again crime will happen and the biggest difference that we have are these officers and the hard work they do even behind-the-scenes with the investigation. we are anticipating that our homicide rate will be lower than it has been since 1960. but what most people aren't talking about is our solve rate, 90%, more than any place in the country because again, our officers have the support and tools they need to combat these issues. i'm really excited about what this means for san francisco, what this means for public safety, and what this means for our future and what people are starting to already see but will continue to see and what they will continue to feel. a safe place for all residents

in every part of san francisco. with that, i want to introduce the person who we have been working hand in hand when we put together the resources that we need to get license plate readers, drone technology and some of the work we are doing with allowing some of the reports to be written using our camera systems and other things we are trying to do to give police officers tools to actually be able to focus on their jobs. the incredible partner who has focused on all of this work and led the issues that are now starting to bear the fruit is no other than the head of the police officers association, lieutenant tracy mccrey. >> you don't have to clap for me, clap for him. thank you all for coming out this morning. i especially want to thank mayor

breed, chief scott, to work collaboratively with them and the team in the department to get the officers what they need. we know we have to have a reset. the police officers profession is not the same than when it was when we came in when we started our careers as police officers. a lot of things have changed, but it takes a real leader to go out and hear it straight from the people who do this job and that's what the mayor did. she went out and talked to the people with the boots on the ground and she heard what they needed. as you know there are other departments that have this technology that we now have to help us do our job better. it wasn't just me trying to say something to her, but it was actually her going out and speaking with the men and women who do this job. and not many people would have done that. you are going to hear everything, a-z, what's good,

what's bad and not working but we have a new path forward now. the police department is not what it used to be as i said before and we have to change with the times. my job is to try to work to make it better for every person who steps into this building because you are going to learn, you are going to learn to serve this city and help them do their job a lot better. so i'm just one person in a big scheme of a lot of people trying to help and do the right thing in this city. you have seen changes. the crime rates are like she said going to be lower than 1950. when have you heard that from a world renown city. we have challenges, of course we do. i spoke to a class this morning at 8:00. it's a diverse class. it's great to see people who are young, old, people who changed careers who decided they want a

career in service because that's what this career is. you are serving the city of san francisco and we want everyone to be on board with that. i'm appreciative of the hard work that the mayor and the chief put in to get this class back up and to keep it rolling. i think we can get more than the range of 50. the challenge is to keep challenging ourselves, and we will and we will rise to the occasion. thank you very much. i appreciate everyone that showed up here. it's hot. i'm ready to get inside. [ applause ] >> if there is any questions, we can take a couple, but we are going to head in and the mayor and the chief will address these matters. >> i have a question. >> [inaudible] >> the starting salary is $112,000, that's not with benefits, the benefits are even

higher. they are starting at 112 and people are coming from everywhere. we have people from all around the state and nationwide also. we want people from the region if we can, but the doors are open to everybody. we have as president said and the mayor, they come from every where. >> we have a lot of college graduates, and people that have changes careers, people from security. just a variety of different backgrounds that we have in the academy. that really makes this special because that diversity brings a lot of different perspectives and world views. at the end of the day, diversity is what makes us who we are. it's people from business, security, military.

a lot of college graduates, a lot of people with secondary degrees, advanced degrees. so it's a really good crowd. >> what impacts does this have on people and staff overall? >> why did it take until now? in 2021, it was going in the opposite direction. i mean that literally. it was going in the opposite direction. not only were multiple leaving the department, but our applicant pool went down to numbers we haven't seen in many many years. it takes a lot of different things to turn that around. in this city, we have a mayor that was committed to turning it around. i won't repeat everything she said, but the salaries that were negotiated, the contracts that

were negotiated, the retention pay, that took time in and of itself. also we had to turn around and think about this department and policing in general. that sprung the other way. three years ago, things were really really tough. morale was low and there was a lot of scrutiny from the police department and we had people at that time gathered through that process and then they decided i don't want to do this job. it's not worth it for me. that is turned around. it's still a difficult profession, let me be clear about that, but it's a great profession and this is what it is really about. we want people here who want to serve. we want people here who come here for the right reasons. the salary is right to allow people to take care of their families and their needs, bull

but all of these pieces to help us get to this has been a long haul. this has been a crisis and now we are here to turn it around. we are happy and i'm humbly stating that. i'm very happy that we are where we are because many departments still aren't there yet. that's because of the leadership of these two women behind me and many others. that's how we turned it around. >> how many police are there now? >> we are still around 500 short from where our work load analysis says that we should be. i will say this with the class sizes that we have, with the retention incentive that we have and less people retiring, we do expect that to be a raise.

things are really looking up. >> thank you. we are going inside. we'll help you get organized. >> >> all right. it good to see you all again. you heard from me on your first day. so i'm going to be very very quick and turn this over to our mayor london breed. again, i want to reemphasize that i'm happy to have you here. again, the largest class since 2018. you are joining the department where there is a lot of great momentum and making things happen and you will make it better. i won't repeat this and what i said on the first day but i'm really excited and i do want to point this out because this mayor is the reason that a lot of these good things are happening in terms of the direction that this department is going. our mayor has fought for better salaries, better benefits, a lot

of the equipment that we have that you will have to use as your benefit out in the field, we didn't have that a year or two years ago. that's because of our mayor that made sure things are better for this department. you are really stepping into a good situation. you will get the training from these instructors that are lining the walls here and when you go out in the field, you will have it better than those before you. i also appreciate that, and understand where you are compared to where it used to be. with that, mayor london breed. >> thank you so much, it is really an honor and exciting time to be here to really celebrate the fact that this department is finally seeing significant change, and you all represent that change. this is one of the most diverse classes we've had in a really

long time in addition to being one of the largest. and we also understand that there is a current class of more than 30 people and we expect to see many of you all on the streets of san francisco very soon. i do want to tell you that it has been a difficult journey to get here and i'm sure many of you are very much familiar with san francisco, but more importantly, the challenges that have existed over the years with law enforcement in general. so it is even more meaningful that you are choosing this very noble profession to be a part of as a way to serve and protect the people of this city and we know that process will not be easy, but it can be very rewarding. some of you may know that i grew up in san francisco. i was born and raised in public houing in this city, and we didn't always have the best relationship with law enforcement. sadly i experienced a lot of violence, a

lot of gun violence in particular. what i appreciate about so many of the captains and people that i have worked with over the years at northern police station, at how there was an effort to build trust, to build that relationship, to work with communities even when community didn't want to work with you. i remember as the director of the african american and culture complex, how a number of the officers would come into the center and how sometimes the kids wouldn't even say hi. maybe a year later, there is a head nod. another year later, a fist bump. some of those kids are now adults and some of them are doing well and some of those still have the same relationship in the community with some of the officers who are still there, who are still spending their lives working to serve and protect the neighborhood and combat some of the real

challenges. although gun violence isn't what it used to be, there are some real major issues that we continue to face. one of the things that we have tried to work on is help remove some of the responsibilities from officers plate. we are still working on that. so that someone struggling with mental illness is not the responsibility of the law enforcement officers, and we are providing the tools to allow you to do your job. these drones, all this technology is a game changer. i put this on the ballot not because i thought about this, but because i had an opportunity to meet with so many men and women from the police department to understand what the challenges were and how to make

this department better to allow you to do your job as effectively and efficiently as you want to. now you are coming into the department with a shift, a shift in tools to make it easier. it's not to say that we are where we want to be. we know we have work to do. yes, we have seen some of the results of that with crime going down, but we also understand that numbers don't mean anything to someone who has been assaulted or had their business broken into. we know there is more work to do. having you all on the streets, you are an important part of that strategy. we want to make sure that we serve and protect the public, but we also want to make sure that you are safe out there while you are doing your job. so providing you with what you need to do that is something that we all care about. and you now have finally the leadership of the mayor's office, the chief of police, the district attorney, and other law

enforcement agencies that are working collaboratively together to try and resolve so many of the challenging issues that exist in major cities like san francisco. but i do take a lot of pride in the fact that our homicides rate are on track to be lower than they have been since 1960. the biggest difference now too is the solve rate because of the work that our police officers do. it's at 90%. that didn't happen when i was growing up. and we are seeing change and we are seeing change because of people who work in the san francisco police department. it is a real partnership, and it is a real opportunity to make a difference. and the one thing i will leave you with is the fact that every day that you do this job, make sure that you remember why you decided to sign up in the first

place. make sure that you are reminding yourself your putting on a uniform and going out in the street and risking your life every day. make sure there is something that reminds you why you do this work every day. that reason is why you will be proud to serve every day. why you will wake up every morning and go out there to do this work. that will be the reason that will carry you through the difficult times. so someone that is disrespectful or when someone insults you, or when someone you help does something really mean to you. you are going to remember why am i doing this? you are trying to make a difference. you want to help people. i'm sure many of you have your various reasons, but i also want you to know as someone who has lived in fear in this

city, in a community where i wanted to feel safe and was afraid, i'm grateful that even when people don't know that they need you, that you are still going to be there. you are still going to be there to help make a difference and to help keep the people of san francisco safe. so thank you for choosing this police department, thank you for choosing san francisco, and i wish each and every one of you the best of luck, as you go through the police department and celebrate your events, i will say as you go out onto the streets, always stay alert and do everything you can and to ensure that you have the public trust. you have my belief, and i wish you the best in all you do.

thank you all very much for being here and for choosing the san francisco police department. [ applause ] >> - >> we are doing is filipino and mexican cuzeen. the main component the filipino style meat originated. we grew up on that.

the most popular items are burritos. we have really something for everybody. we have a salad, we have tacos, we are natcho s and-trying to create something quick and casual, something you can get anything any time. for me i love food and didn't want to be a chef. i was in the business side of it and bring something special to san francisco so why i reached out to my business partner gil and he wanted to partner for food and we share a passion for food that comes from our parents cht it was a honor for us to be able to do this for ourselves and also for our parents and you know, our families. for us to have a business as thriving here in san francisco, such a honor and makes me feel proud of myself and of my city as well.

just to be able to add to this city that is so special. we are just a speck of the specialness, but you know, to have any part that is just a honor. >> good afternoon and welcome to the san francisco board of supervisors for today, november 5, 2024, election day in the united states of america and san francisco. madam clerk, please call the roll. >> thank you mr. president. supervisor chan, present. rv