San Francisco supervisor calls for more police foot and bicycle patrols to combat crime
Ongoing concern over crime and safety in San Francisco has prompted a city supervisor to propose more police foot and bicycle patrols in the city's neighborhoods.
Supervisor Ahsha Safaí said he was introducing legislation Tuesday urging the Police Department to roll out a community policing strategy that includes more officers on the ground to address and prevent crime.
In addition to increased foot and bike patrols, the proposal would require the Chief of Police to work with district Captains to develop a map outlining the footprint of the foot and bike patrol beats within each district police station.
"People in the community, they want to see police officers out in the community, doing community policing, suppressing crime and stopping crime before it even happens," Safaí said on CBS News Bay Area Morning Edition Tuesday.
Safaí's District 11 includes the Excelsior, Oceanview and Outer Mission neighborhoods. Earlier this year, Safaí announced he would run against Mayor London Breed in the 2024 election.
"We've seen rampant retail theft, we've seen rampant property crime, and we haven't had a strong response," said Safaí. "People want leadership. They want someone to step up. They want the mayor to assert themself. They want someone to lead and work with the police department. That's what this proposal is, saying to the chief, 'Whatever resources you have, and we know you need more officers, get them out in the community, get them present and make them visible, and get them out there to stop crime.'"
In 2021, San Francisco Police increased police foot and bicycle patrols in areas heavily traveled by tourists to safeguard visitors who might be targeted by thieves. Months later, the department touted a sharp drop in crime where the patrols were deployed.
A 2018 study by the California Policy Lab and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley showed a "significant" drop in assaults and thefts in San Francisco in 2017 after the Police Department doubled its foot patrols last year to address crime.