SF mayor requests $63M extra for police due to surge in crime.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed Requests Record High Budget for 2023-24 Fiscal Year

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has requested a budget of $14.6 billion for the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year, which is a record high for both the county and the city. The budget includes a $63 million increase in spending for the police compared to the previous year, marking a 9% increase from the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Increased Police Funding and Other Proposals

Under Breed’s requested fiscal budget, police would receive a total of $787.9 million. In February, Breed announced an additional $27.6 million in police overtime to make up for the shortage of officers. In addition to increased police funding, Breed also proposed an additional $200,000 to hire three prosecutors for the district attorney’s office, who would be dedicated to cases involving open-air drug markets in the city.

The Department of Public Health would receive the biggest increase in the proposed budget, with an additional $238 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year combined with the $3 billion they received in the 2022-23 fiscal year. This amount would be decreased by $25 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year, but would still give the department approximately $3.2 billion.

San Francisco’s Crime Problem

Crime has been a growing problem for San Francisco, with several businesses leaving the city due to theft on retail stores. In a report released last month, almost 400 jobs are set to be cut in the San Francisco area after Nordstrom decided to close two locations over “dynamics” of the city’s downtown area. Comedian Dave Chappelle recently made a surprise appearance in the city and joked that the city needs its own Batman to address its crime issues.

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