Elections
An ambulance passes in front of the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.

Proposition I — Give Nurses and 911 Operators Better Pension Plans

10.07.2024
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See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition I would improve retirement packages for 911 call dispatchers, as well as nurses who transitioned from temporary to full-time staff positions, in an effort to attract more people to those city jobs. The measure could help fix persistent staffing shortages and improve emergency and health services in San Francisco, supporters say. 

“When we look to the future, we have to ask ourselves, who’s going to answer these calls?” said 911 dispatcher Valerie Tucker, referring to emergency phone calls, at a July public meeting about the measure.

Elections
Mayor London Breed and Police Chief Bill Scott address cadets at the police academy.

Proposition F — Delay Officer Retirement to Bolster Police Staffing

10.07.2024
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See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition F aims to bolster police staffing by giving retirement-eligible officers a financial incentive to continue working: They could begin drawing pensions early, alongside their salaries, for up to five years. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.

Law & Justice

Proveedores de Servicios Exigen Acceso a Reclusos Latinos

03.08.2024
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La falta de programación en español es un problema crecientemente grave ya que el encarcelamiento de latinos ha aumentado desde el lanzamiento el junio pasado de una ofensiva policial contra las drogas en los vecindarios de Tenderloin y sur de Market. • Read in English: https://www.sfpublicpress.org/service-providers-demand-access-to-latinx-jail-inmates

Public Safety
A woman wearing a long-sleeved, gray top and wearing her dark hair pulled back in a bun stands at a podium speaking into a microphone. Another woman appears in the frame seated behind her. This image is a screen-grab from a TV broadcast, and there is a green banner across the bottom of the frame with the following text: "Sheriff's Department Oversight Board" above "4: Presentation From the Re-Entry Community"

Service Providers Demand Access to Latinx Jail Inmates

02.09.2024
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Spanish-language programming at San Francisco’s County Jail has since become virtually non-existent as routine lockdowns caused by staff shortages have made it practically impossible to hold classes. Even while deputies work mandatory 16-hour shifts, there aren’t enough of them to escort people who administer rehabilitation sessions and other training programs into the jails.

On Feb. 2, numerous social service providers for the Latinx incarcerated population implored the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board during its monthly meeting to help them gain access to the jail.

City Hall

Proposition E — Police Department Policies and Procedures

02.05.2024
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Proposition E is a package of policy changes that would allow the San Francisco Police Department to engage in more high-speed chases, permit drone use in pursuits and grant the department the ability to install new security cameras in public spaces and test new surveillance technology on the public with less oversight from independent bodies.

Law & Justice
Graffiti covers a poster with the words "Jail the Sacklers"

Anonymous Posters Singling Out Judges for Leniency in Drug Cases Earn Condemnation From Defense Lawyers

09.09.2023
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An anonymous poster campaign calling out judges who dropped charges against people accused of selling fentanyl is getting strong pushback from San Francisco legal professionals. 

“This is just wildly inappropriate,” said Kirk Jenkins, Senior Counsel at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer. “You could cause violence against judges.”

Homelessness
People stand and sit under and around a white shade structure. There is a table stacked with pizza boxes and other snacks, with three large bundles of bottled water underneath.

Berkeley Says It Was Aggressive in Homeless Encampment Sweeps, Promises Reforms

08.02.2023
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Berkeley is accelerating plans to more humanely deal with homelessness in the wake of a San Francisco Public Press report on a chaotic encampment raid in October, and city staffers say they will start collaborating with unhoused people and homeless advocates when planning to clean or clear large encampments.

Several city departments are changing procedures in response to complaints from those living in encampments and their advocates, and from residential and commercial neighbors.