What is it?

Proposition F aims to shore up police staffing by giving some officers the ability to delay retirement in exchange for some extra benefits.

Officers who are near retirement will be able to to defer their retirement for up to five years in exchange for extra pay (up to 90% of their regular salary), which they can only access after retirement. In exchange, officers are required to maintain active service and do neighborhood patrols or investigative work.

This program will automatically expire in five years, but the Board of Supervisors may re-authorize it.

Why vote Yes?

Prop F is a short-term stop-gap solution until San Francisco can recruit and train more officers.

We support hiring more police officers to achieve the full-staffing target of at least 2,074 officers (as determined by an independent study (PDF) commissioned by the Board of Supervisors). While Prop F doesn't help us grow the force, it slows the rate of officers leaving the force which gives a little more time.

Prop F comes with safeguards against fraud and waste: officers must be on active duty, they must perform foot patrols or investigatory work, and they can only use these benefits for a few years when they're near retirement.

Prop F is not a long-term solution, and we're glad to see that it will automatically expire after five years unless the Board of Supervisors opts to renew it for an additional five years. During this time, we believe SFPD will be able to focus on improving recruitment and retention — and we are committed to helping Supervisor Dorsey design and pass effective recruitment policy as well.

Vote Yes on Prop F to shore up the police department amid the staffing crisis.