Mayor Lurie Delivers on Key Commitment in Rebuilding the Ranks Plan, Launching New Program to Add Police Officers, Keep San Franciscans Safe During Large Events

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today launched San Francisco’s new Special Events Officer Program (SEOP), representing a major step towards a fully staffed San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) under his Rebuilding the Ranks plan. The SEOP program—agreed to by the SFPD and San Francisco Police Officers Association (SFPOA) late last month—will expand police presence during large-scale public events and in high-priority areas across the city, adding public safety resources where and when they are most needed.

The Rebuilding the Ranks plan and Mayor Lurie’s work to fully staff the SFPD and San Francisco Sheriff’s Office builds on early signs of progress of improving public safety and street conditions across San Francisco. Through his first six months in office, overall crime was down 27% year over year, including a 29% decrease in property crime and a 19% drop in violent crime. Car break-ins are at a 22-year low, and street encampments are at their lowest number since 2019. San Francisco has already seen what full staffing can deliver as the city hosted the safest Chinese New Year Parade weekend on record, which coincided with NBA All-Star Weekend, and delivered a safe and smooth Pride weekend by reaching full operational staffing levels using overtime. Through SEOP, San Francisco will now be able to deliver that same level of public safety presence during upcoming events like the 2026 Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup.

“We’ve proven that when our police department is fully staffed, we can keep San Franciscans safe. We are meeting the serious staffing shortages with urgency, innovation, and results, and the Special Events Officer Program gives us a smart, immediate way to put more officers where we need them, without overextending our current force,” said Mayor Lurie. “At the same time, we’re modernizing the hiring process so we can recruit, onboard, and retain the next generation of officers faster and more effectively than ever before. The message is simple: we are rebuilding the ranks, and it’s working.”

The SEOP program will expand police presence by tapping into a pool of recently retired peace officers with valid Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification to return in a full-duty, part-time capacity to staff concerts, parades, festivals, and fixed posts at sites like shelters and navigation centers. These officers will be fully uniformed, equipped, and integrated into the SFPD chain of command, freeing up active-duty officers for core patrol and investigative roles while reducing mandatory overtime.

“The Special Events Officer Program gives us a smarter way to deploy resources, expanding our presence at major events and critical sites while keeping officers on the beat and bringing down mandatory overtime,” said SFPD Interim Chief Paul Yep. “It’s a practical, effective solution to the staffing challenges we face, and one I’ve been working to advance since my time in the Mayor’s Office. I’m proud to see it move forward and grateful to Mayor Lurie for his continued commitment to public safety.”

“The Special Event Reserve Officer Program is a great example of collaboration between the Mayor, the SFPD, and the SFPOA to address our staffing challenges in a thoughtful and effective way,” said SFPOA President Tracy McCray. “This program will help ensure public safety during large-scale events while we continue working to rebuild and grow the Department.”

“San Francisco's police officer shortage is pushing us to think creatively about how we keep visitors safe without pulling officers away from the essential work they do every day,” said Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman. “Special events bring energy and life into the city, and everyone who comes here deserves to feel safe and welcome. I'm grateful for the mayor's efforts to make this program a reality.”

“As San Francisco makes progress toward fully staffing our public safety agencies, creative approaches like Mayor Lurie’s Special Events Officer Program can leverage the experience of our retired cops while relieving our neighborhood captains of deployment demands that major events would otherwise impose,” said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey. “This is a win-win approach to meet the public safety demands of concerts, parades, and street fairs without sacrificing the district staffing needed to patrol our neighborhoods and commercial corridors.”

“Full police staffing is essential for public safety, and we must do everything possible to recruit and increase the ranks,” said District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio. “Finding ways to utilize recently retired officers in order to free up regular officers for vital police work is a welcome innovation.”

“San Francisco is preparing to welcome visitors from around the world for next year’s Super Bowl and World Cup, filling our hotels and streets,” said District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood. “The Special Events Officer Program will help ensure that both residents and businesses feel secure, showing that San Francisco is a safe and welcoming place to celebrate.”

“This new approach to our Special Events Officer Program will allow us to adequately support our city's robust calendar of events, parades, and concerts while also continuing neighborhood-serving patrols and rapid response times,” said District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter. “As a vibrant, dynamic city full of events and visitors from around the world, we need to find creative and flexible strategies to protect everyone in our city.”

“This is an immediate and creative step forward. San Franciscans are tired of hearing about a police staffing shortage—it’s time to give them results, and the SEOP plan does just that,” said District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill. “A fully staffed police department is a top priority, and these smart, innovative moves are getting us closer every day. And to the potential recruits considering San Francisco—we want you here.”

The launch of SEOP is part of Mayor Lurie’s broader effort to restore police staffing, modernize recruitment, and deliver a safer San Francisco. Under his Rebuilding the Ranks plan, progress is being made to restore staffing at SFPD and the Sheriff’s Office.

Changes at SFPD include:

• Surging applications: From January to June 2025, SFPD has received 2,155 applications, a 64% increase from 1,311 during the same period in 2024. 
• Rising lateral hiring: SFPD swore in 30 lateral police officers in Fiscal Year 2024-2025, nearly four times as many as in the previous fiscal year (eight). 
• Steps to accelerate hiring:
  • Hiring additional background investigators
  • Increasing physical ability test and oral interview frequency, with same-day results
  • Launching a “green light” fast-track system to accelerate high-potential candidates
• Streamlined hiring: Starting July 11, SFPD is hosting “one-stop testing days,” where applicants can complete LiveScan, hair sample, notarization,and physical ability and oral interview testing all in one visit—reducing delays and streamlining the process. The Sheriff’s Office has seen success with similar reforms.
• Improvements at the academy: Since January 2025, SFPD has instituted a pre-week orientation that sets expectations and familiarizes candidates with the academy’s physical and academic demands before formal training begins. This step has helped reduce spontaneous resignations that lead to voluntary dropouts and ensure only the most prepared and committed recruits move forward. Since implementing this orientation, the academy’s retention rate has increased with fewer resignations occurring.

Changes at the Sheriff’s Office include:

• Surges in hiring: For the first time since Fiscal Year 2018-2019, the Sheriff’s Office is on track to realize a net gain in sworn personnel, with 96 new deputy sheriffs hired this fiscal year. This number marks the highest hiring total in at least decade and the first staffing increase during Sheriff Miyamoto’s tenure—a direct reflection of the mayor’s focus on filling vacancies of sworn officers and his commitment to prioritizing core city services. 
• Innovative hiring policy changes: The office is hiring more internal background investigators, utilizing contract services for the background process, and using already trained retired sworn staff for background investigations. 
• Improvements at entry testing: The office is making entry completable in one day, providing more support to applicants preparing for physical exams. San Franciscans will feel the difference in faster response times, reduced courtroom delays, and more visible public safety presence across the city.