We entered July without more than a few of the legendary cops that had served for decades as they retired at the end of June. I’m not going to name any names for fear of leaving someone out so I’ll just leave it at, “You know who you are”. As we look for you for the sage wisdom we have taken for granted, that we thought would always be there, and find you gone, “we will always remember.” Best of luck in your well earned retirements.
I particularly hated to see them go, especially after we had such a tough month in San Francisco with gun violence. It’s never a good thing to see leadership walking away when I had gotten so use to having them step up and figure it out. It’s up to the next generation of leaders now to step up and fill the shoes of those that taught you your trade and, judging from July, you are up to the task. July has been much quieter (still not quiet enough), but there is much work to be done before the summer is through.
I want to thank all the officers (Bayview, Ingleside, TAC, VRT, etc.) who have gone along with shift changes to address the gun violence. Without you, I hate to think how July might have gone. To all the other officers that picked up the slack, knowing that much of the supplemental resources had been deployed to the southern end of the City and never let your areas see a difference, I thank you as well. The City owes you all a debt of gratitude as you placed (continue to place) yourselves in harm’s way, while we grapple with the issue of summer gun violence.
On a lighter note, the July skies lit up with fireworks (and “Shotspotter” went off all over town) on the 4th, we graduated another summer class of PAL Cadets, hosted our now Annual Promotional Ceremony for 63 members of the Department who are moving up the ladder, participated in the OFJ Annual Scholarship Awards to deserving high school seniors, and so much more.
I really want to give a shout out to all of our PAL cadets as they are such an integral part of what we do. As I travel to many events across the city, it’s always refreshing to see our Cadets managing crowds, directing traffic or just taking care of whatever needs to be done to get the job done and the great attitude with which they do it. As usual, my hat goes off to all of our cadets for their tireless efforts, keep up the good work! Hopefully, we’ll all have you wearing dark blue uniforms soon.
Speaking of young people, I had the distinct opportunity to attend the Annual Officers for Justice Scholarship Awards Event. These types of events are particularly enriching because it’s our way of instilling confidence in the youth of our community. This year, nine college-bound students received scholarships. They arrived happy to be receiving $500 scholarships and left ecstatic as the OFJ surprised them with $1000 checks. Heartfelt Congratulations!
For all our young people as they move forward towards high school graduation or college, I again ask the question, “What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?” Hopefully, you’re thinking, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t attempt”…stay right there and you will not fail.
Promotional Ceremonies will take place annually here at the SFPD to make sure that our “elders” and “youngsters” have an opportunity to share in the achievement(s) of their beloved sworn family and friends while the memories are fresh. This year, over three hundred and fifty family members, friends, and guests attended the SFPD Promotional Ceremony for sixty three members of the Department. It was a great honor to administer the “oath of office” to so many deserving men and women of our department. It truly could not have come at a better time. Trust in leadership will be the ‘coin of the realm” as we hire 1000 officers over the next 7 years – this group was a great first installment of tomorrow’s SFPD leadership.
Looking ahead, we have America’s Cup on the horizon! This event will bring hundreds of thousands to our city to witness this historic event. It will also involve many of us as we provide for the safety and security of our visitors to this great city. Let’s always remember that we represent one of the oldest and proudest departments in the nation. Always remember that we only have one chance to make a good first impression. Let’s make it a good one. In this case, “the whole world (really) will be watching”. Let’s show what being “San Francisco’s Finest” is all about.
Lastly, I wanted to clarify some of the rumors surrounding work schedules. In 1986, when the 10 hour day was “piloted” at Park Station, the agreement was that the 4 x 10 schedule was to be an incentive to keep senior officers in Patrol. The 10 hour day was never intended to be for anyone other than Patrol as an incentive to keep senior folks in Patrol. The Patrol incentive was seen as necessary at the time because there were other incentives to go other places (e.g. promotions, premiums, motorcycles, horses, boats, plainclothes, etc). With this being the case, after the September 2012 sign-up, the 10 hour day will once again be the sole province of Patrol (10 District Stations/SFO Patrol) as was originally intended.
Specialized Units and Investigations (In the City and at SFO) will work the 9 hour day.
Those in Administrative assignments (weekdays worked/weekends off) are on the 8 hour day.
Making these adjustments came out of necessity; not because I wanted to upset anyone. The changes are in the best interest of the City and the Department. Being down 220+ officers today and looking at being down 300+ officers by this time next year has forced us to think “outside the box”. We had to create staffing efficiencies to keep the City and the officers charged with protecting it safe. By making the scheduling changes as described above, the Department will gain over 16,000 additional days worked by the officers assigned to the affected units. Thus, making them available to respond to calls, do traffic enforcement, reduce gun violence, and back other officers up which keeps us all safe. I appreciate your patience as we move through “change” – something nobody enjoys while it’s happening.
Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra!
Take Care and Be Safe Out There,
Greg Suhr
Chief of Police, San Francisco Police Department
