San Francisco Supervisors Want To Restore Police Academy Classes
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – A push is underway within the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to prevent the loss of police officers in the city by restoring police academy classes.
With a number of officers expected to retire in the next few years, San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr said he is concerned about staffing levels.
"The DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Program) program expired and we're going to be in need of officers in a hurry within the next three years," said Suhr.
Suhr said in total, they could be out 200-300 officers over that time period.
That has led San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener to renew a call to restore police academy classes as part of the budget.
"If we don't start planting the seeds to bring in new officers, we're going to see a significantly smaller police force and that's going to have impacts around the city," said Wiener.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
But Wiener is not alone in his call for action.
"There is a desire among board members to take a look and see whether it is at all possible to do something and begin working on that issue in this coming budget year," said San Francisco Supervisor Carmen Chu.
City officials said they should know later this week whether money has been found to hold some academy classes this year.
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