As a result of the restrictions imposed by Proposition D, approved by the voters in June, 1994, on the minimum level of full duty sworn personnel, the Police Department is not currently in compliance with the other provisions of Proposition D, including civilianization and an increase in the number of sworn personnel dedicated to community policing and other police activities.  

• In fact, the Police Department has undergone a process of "reverse civilianization," in which an increasing number of sworn personnel are performing clerical, administrative and other functions that do not require peace officer status. Meanwhile, there has been a trend towards greater civilianization in other large police departments in California and nationwide. 

• As a result, the Police Department is incurring as much as $2.24 million per year in excess personnel costs by using sworn personnel to perform administrative, technical support and/or other non-police functions. This practice can also have a demoralizing effect on existing civilian employees who are being paid less for performing similar functions. Additionally, hiring civilian employees with greater expertise in functions currently being performed by sworn personnel would improve productivity. 

• Fully implementing the provisions of Proposition D, through civilianization of non-police functions now performed by sworn personnel, could result in additional costs to the City of as much as $8.7 million annually because offsetting reductions in sworn staffing would be prohibited, despite the fact that such reductions would not affect the current level of sworn staffing actually performing police duties. 

• The Board of Supervisors should consider, as a policy matter, submitting a ballot measure to the electorate to amend Charter Section 4.127 (Proposition D) in order to facilitate the civilianization of sworn positions in the Police Department. Civilianization would enable the Police Department either to (a) realize savings of up to $2,242,618 per year without reducing the current level of police services; or (b) use this savings to hire an additional 46 Police Officers dedicated to community policing, patrol and investigations.

As part of this performance audit, we reviewed and analyzed Proposition D and how it relates to the level of civilianization in the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). For the purposes of this report, civilianization is defined as the conversion of sworn positions, which are occupied by members performing duties that do not require peace officer status, to non-sworn positions in the Police Department"s budget. As part of this review and analysis, we examined the number of sworn positions as a percentage of total positions in the SFPD"s budget, as compared to other jurisdictions, and reviewed the functions being performed by these sworn personnel in order to determine (a) whether the allocation of staff complies with the mandates of Proposition D; (b) the excess costs and other disadvantages of allowing sworn personnel to perform clerical and/or administrative functions; and (c) whether there is potential to civilianize some of the functions currently being performed by sworn members.

To accomplish these objectives, we:

Proposition D (Charter Section 4.127)

In June, 1994, the San Francisco electorate approved a Charter Amendment (Proposition D) which mandated a staffing level of not less than 1,971 full duty sworn officers. The Charter provision, which is now part of Section 4.127 of the 1996 Charter, further stated that the SFPD should review opportunities to civilianize as many sworn positions as possible in order to maximize police presence in the communities. Lastly, the Charter Amendment stipulated that all new full duty sworn officers, beginning in FY 1994-95, should be dedicated to neighborhood community policing, patrol and investigations.

During FY 1994-95, the SFPD greatly increased hiring and training of new Police Officer recruits in order to meet the July 1, 1995 deadline for full staffing of 1,971 full duty officers. As a result, the number of actual sworn personnel on the SFPD"s payroll has increased from 1,820 in April, 1994 to 2,021sworn members as of March 9, 1998, an increase of 201members or 11.0percent.

Although the current level of 2,021sworn officers is higher than the minimum required staffing level of 1,971 full duty sworn officers, we calculated in Section 2 of this report that the equivalent of 17 full-time equivalent (FTE) sworn personnel are assigned to modified duty and an additional 28 FTE sworn personnel are on temporary disability leave, for a total of 45 FTE sworn personnel who are not performing "full duty" assignments. Although Charter Section 4.127 does not clearly define "full duty", it seems reasonable that sworn personnel on modified duty or temporary disability leave should not constitute "full duty" officers. If one subtracts the approximately 45 FTE sworn personnel on modified duty or temporary disability from the total of 2,021sworn officers currently on the payroll, the result would be 1,976"full duty" officers or five morethan the 1,971 sworn staffing level specified by the Charter.

In addition,the SFPD"s FY 1997-98 budget provides funding for 131 FTE sworn personnel from overtime pay. If these 131 FTE sworn personnel funded by overtime are added to the 1,976"full duty" officers as described above, the total FTE "full duty" officers increases to 2,107, or 136more than the 1,971 "full duty" officers specified in the Charter.

The Restrictions Imposed by Proposition D

Although the Department is currently in compliance with the minimum staffing level established by Proposition D, the SFPD has not been successful in allocating additional staff to police duties or in civilianizing sworn positions. In fact, the Police Department has undergone a process of "reverse civilianization", in which an increasing number of sworn personnel are performing clerical, administrative and other functions that do not require peace officer status. This has occurred in part because of past budget cutbacks which, due to public pressure to maintain a strong police presence throughout the City, resulted in the elimination of civilian positions rather than sworn positions. As a result, according to the Police Department, there are an insufficient number of civilian personnel available to perform all of the administrative, clerical and other support functions necessary, and sworn personnel are being used instead.The Police Department reports that it has made use of its modified duty officers to perform some of the necessary administrative and support activities that otherwise would be performed by civilian personnel.

In addition, because of the sworn staffing minimum imposed by Proposition D, civilianization would result in additional, rather than reduced, personnel costs for the Police Department. For example, in most jurisdictions, civilianization results in a cost savings, since sworn positions are usually replaced with lower cost civilian positions. However, in San Francisco, because Proposition D mandates a minimum staffing level of 1,971 sworn officers, the Police Department cannot replace sworn personnel with civilian personnel. Instead, under a strict interpretation of Proposition D, civilianization can only be achieved by adding new civilian positions to the budget to assume the administrative and other tasks currently being performed by sworn personnel, and then reassigning those sworn personnel to police functions (such as community policing, investigations, patrol, etc.), thereby resulting in increased rather than reduced personnel costs for the City. Because of a combination of (a) the cost of adding new sworn positions to the budget in order to comply with Proposition D and (b) other budget priorities in the Police Department and throughout the City, the Police Department has been unable to add new civilian positions to its budget.

As a result, in many cases, clerical and administrative functions are being performed by sworn members of the SFPD. Personnel costs are therefore higher than may be necessary for a number of functions, due to higher salary and benefit costs for sworn personnel. In addition, the use of sworn personnel to perform administrative and/or clerical functions is not consistent with the intent of Proposition D. The use of sworn employees to perform administrative and/or clerical functions can also have a demoralizing effect on other existing civilian employees who are paid less for performing similar functions. Finally, hiring civilian employees with educational backgrounds, experience and expertise in functions currently being performed by sworn personnel, who do not typically have the same level of expertise in these areas, would improve productivity.

The Allocation of Sworn Personnel to Administration and Support Activities

As noted above, Charter Section 4.127 states that all new full duty sworn officers hired after FY 1993-94 should be dedicated to neighborhood community policing, patrol and investigations. However, there has been a significant increase (30percent) in the number of sworn personnel assigned to providing administrative, management and/or support services in the Administration Bureau. Table 3.1 shows the actual number of sworn personnel on the SFPD"s payroll in April, 1994 and as of March 9, 1998, Department-wide and by bureau/function. Table 3.1 Actual No. of Sworn Employees on SFPD"s Payroll in April, 1994 and March, 1998 by Bureau/Function  

Bureau/Function	April,  1994	March,  1998	Increase/  (Decrease)	Percent  Change
Administration, Management, Support Services	159	207	48	30.2%
Recruits/Other *	69	69	--	0.0%
Field Operations Bureau, District Patrol	1,051	1,149	98	9.3%
Field Operations Bureau, Special Operations	236	251	15	6.4%
Investigations Bureau	_305	345	40	13.1%
Total Department	1,820	2,021	201	11.0%

 

As illustrated in Table 3.1 above, the largest increase in sworn personnel since April, 1994 has been in the SFPD"s Administration Bureau (30percent). There has been an increase of only 9.3percent in the Field Operations Bureau - Patrol Division, a 6.4percent increase in the Field Operations Bureau - Special Operations Division and an 13percent increase in the Investigations Bureau. As such, the Police Department is not in compliance with the provision of Charter Section 4.127 that requires all new full duty sworn officers hired after FY 1993-94 to be dedicated to neighborhood community policing, patrol and investigations.

According the Police Department, one reason for the large increase in sworn personnel in the Administration Bureau between April, 1994 and March, 1998was the transfer of Police Officers on temporary disability leave or modified duty assignment from field units to the Administration Bureau in order to improve supervision of these officers. Additionally, the Department maintains that all new Police Officer recruits who finish basic training at the Police Academy are initially assigned to community policing duties at the district stations.

Civilianization

As noted above, Charter Section 4.127 also states that the Police Department should attempt to civilianize as many sworn positions as possible in order maximize police presence in the communities. However, as of October 7, 1997, there were 372 actual civilian employees on the SFPD"s payroll, compared to 369 actual civilian employees in April, 1994.

Additionally, although the number of authorized civilian positions (including both vacant and filled positions) has increased by 13 since FY 1994-95 (from 433 authorized positions in FY 1994-95 to 446 authorized positions in FY 1997-98), there has been a reduction of 69 authorized civilian positions (13.4 percent) since 1990, from 515 positions in FY 1990-91 to 446 positions in FY 1997-98. During the same time period, the number of authorized sworn positions increased by 119 (6.0 percent), from 1,973 sworn positions in FY 1990-91 to 2,092 sworn positions in FY 1997-98.

Comparison of the SFPD to other Police Departments

Based on law enforcement management and administrative statistics published by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics, we found that there appears to be a trend towards civilianization in police departments nationwide. For example, for the 31 largest police departments in the U.S. which have at least 1,000 sworn members, the average percentage growth in the number of civilian employees was 12 percent between 1990 and 1993, versus only a three percent increase in the number of sworn employees and a four percent increase overall. On the other hand, in San Francisco, the number of civilian employees decreased by 23 percent and the number of sworn employees remained unchanged between 1990 and 1993.

In addition, based on the DOJ"s statistics, an average of 78 percent of employees were sworn in 1993, a decrease from 80 percent in 1990, in the nation"s 31 largest police departments. However, in San Francisco, the number of sworn employees as a percentage of total employees was 83 percent in 1993, an increase from 79 percent in 1990.

Our survey of 10 other large California police departments also showed a trend towards civilianization. Based on documents submitted by six of the 10 police departments surveyed, we found that the SFPD is following the opposite trend than most of the other jurisdictions surveyed, as shown in Table 3.2 below:  Table 3.2 No. of Sworn Employees as a Percentage of Total Personnel and % Growth in Full-time Employees in California Police Departments, FY 1990-91 - FY 1996-97  

	FY 1990-91  No. of  Full-time Employees			FY 1996-97  No. of  Full-time Employees			FY 90-91 - FY 96-97  % Change in No. of  Full-time Employees
	Total	Sworn	% Sworn	Total	Sworn	% Sworn	Total	Sworn	Civilian
Los Angeles	10,909	8,328	76%	12,197	9,037	74%	12%	9%	18%
Riverside	425	298	70%	493	336	68%	16%	13%	25%
Sacramento	863	600	70%	994	612	62%	15%	2%	43%
San Diego	2,500	1,811	72%	2,624	2,006	76%	5%	11%	(10%)
San Jose	1,395	1,081	78%	1,717	1,289	75%	23%	19%	36%
Santa Ana	562	381	68%	686	405	59%	22%	6%	54%
Average of  Surveyed Depts.	2,776	2,083	72%	3,119	2,281	69%	16%	10%	28%
San Francisco	2,488	1,973	79%	2,550	2,092	82%	2%	6%	(11%)

As illustrated in Table 3.2 above, the number of sworn employees as a percentage of total employees decreased in all except one (San Diego) of the six jurisdictions that responded to our survey, whereas the proportion of sworn personnel has increased in San Francisco. In addition, while the percentage of civilian employees has grown at a greater rate (28 percent) than the overall average increase in the number of full-time employees (16 percent) in the six other police departments surveyed, in San Francisco, the number of civilian employees has declined by 11 percent, despite an overall increase of two percent in the total number of employees.

In addition, we also found that approximately 12 percent of sworn employees in the San Francisco Police Department are assigned to administrative and technical support activities in the Administration Bureau, whereas an average of only five percent of sworn personnel are assigned to similar duties in the other police departments surveyed. Table 3.3 below shows the number of sworn employees as a percentage of total personnel by job classification (Administration/Technical Support, Field Operations or Investigations) for six of the 10 jurisdictions surveyed and San Francisco.  Table 3.3 Job Classifications of Full-time Sworn Employees in Surveyed California Police Departments, FY 1996-97  

	Administration/  Technical Support			Field Operations			Investigations
	Total	Sworn	% Sworn	Total	Sworn	% Sworn	Total	Sworn	Civilian
Los Angeles	2,298	663	29%	7,820	7,029	90%	1,570	1,190	76%
Riverside	123	16	13%	272	237	87%	98	83	85%
Sacramento	304	22	7%	538	478	89%	146	113	77%
San Diego	487	75	15%	1,683	1,583	94%	454	348	77%
San Jose	427	70	16%	966	933	97%	283	245	87%
Santa Ana	116	18	16%	317	290	91%	137	106	77%
Average of
Surveyed Depts.	626	144	16%	1,933	1,758	91%	448	348	80%
San Francisco	428	152	36%	1,441	1,400	97%	422	347	82%

As illustrated in Table 3.2, the SFPD has a much higher percentage of sworn employees performing administrative and technical support activities than the six other jurisdictions surveyed (36 percent in the SFPD versus the average of 16 percent in the other jurisdictions).

Based on our survey of other California jurisdictions, we found the following examples of civilianization of specific administrative and technical support functions:

Opportunities for Civilianization in the SFPD

In a survey completed by the Police Department in the spring of 1997, the Police Department identified 189 sworn employees who were assigned to performing primarily administrative and/or clerical tasks. After an independent review and analysis of the functions being performed by sworn officers in the autumn of 1997, the Budget Analyst identified a total of 183 sworn positions which could potentially be civilianized. However, we found in Section 2 of this report that up to 26 sworn positions should be reserved as modified duty positions. Thus, of the 183 sworn positions currently performing non-police functions, the Police Department could convert up to 157 (183 less 26) to civilian positions.

Attachment 3.1 shows the individual functions, the current sworn positions and the proposed civilian classification (if any). Attachment 3.1 is divided into three parts: (a) functions currently performed by sworn personnel which both the Budget Analyst and the Police Department agree should be civilianized (131 positions); (b) additional functions currently performed by sworn personnel which the Budget Analyst, but not the Police Department, recommends for civilianization (26 positions); and, (c) functions which could be civilianized but which the Police Department may wish to reserve for Police Officers assigned to modified duty (26 positions). As shown in Attachment 3.1, the Police Department is incurring $2,242,618 in excess salary and fringe benefit costs by using sworn personnel to perform administrative, technical support and/or other non-police functions.

It should be noted that the final determination as to the appropriate civilian classification to perform the functions identified in Attachment 3.1 will be made by the Department of Human Resources, and the potential savings identified in this report are subject to increases or decreases based on DHR"s recommendations.

The Budget Analyst has identified two policy options for consideration by the Board of Supervisors to increase civilianization of the SFPD and potentially realize significant savings without affecting the level of sworn personnel assigned to police duties.

Option 1: Amending Proposition D to Realize Savings from Civilianization

Because of the approval of Proposition D, it would not be possible for the Police Department to replace existing sworn positions with new civilian positions if the total number of full duty sworn positions fell below 1,971. Thus, civilianizing the 157 sworn positions shown in Attachment 3.1 would result in significant additional costs to the City, since it would not be offset by savings from a reduction in the number of authorized sworn positions. As such, full compliance with Proposition D would cost the City an additional $8,706,904 per year, based on the estimated annual salary cost of $7,016,039 (shown on page 100 in Attachment 3.1) plus $1,690,865 for fringe benefits for these 157 civilian positions. On the other hand, the City could save up to $2,242,618 per year through civilianization if Proposition D were amended to facilitate the civilianization of these 157 civilian functions which are currently being performed by sworn personnel, without reducing the current level of police services.

Based on our analysis in Section 2 of this report and on the table in Attachment 3.1, the appropriate level of total authorized sworn staffing should be reduced from 2,092 to 1,869 positions, as shown in Table 3.4 below: Table 3.4 Recommended Sworn Staffing Level for the San Francisco Police Department  

Current No. of Authorized Sworn Positions	2,092
Less:  Civilianization of Sworn Positions Assigned to Non-Police Functions	(157)
Recommended Reduction from Section 2	__(66)
Recommended No. of Authorized Sworn Positions	1,869

In addition, there would be an increase in the number of authorized civilian positions from 446 to 603 positions, or an additional 157 civilian positions.

Despite our total recommended reduction in sworn personnel from the current level of 2,092 to 1,869 positions, there would not be a reduction in the current level of police services. This is because (a) the 157 positions identified in Attachment 3.1 are currently performing non-police functions and would be replaced by civilian positions; and (b) the remaining 66 positions were originally placed in the budget because of the reported need to accommodate officers on temporary disability or modified duty who were therefore not performing their regular, full duty assignments. Thus, as illustrated in Table 3.5 below, the number of officers who are responsible for responding to calls for service would not decrease. Table 3.5 Sworn Personnel, Sworn Personnel Assigned to Responding to Calls for Service and Crime Incidents per Officer in Surveyed California Police Departments, FY 1996-97  

	All Sworn Personnel			Sworn Personnel Assigned to Responding to Calls for Service (a)
	Total	Sworn Personnel Per 10,000 Residents	Crime Incident per Officer (b)	Total	Sworn Personnel Per 10,000 Residents	Crime Incident per Officer (b)
Los Angeles	9,037	24.8	27.5	4,727	13.0	52.5
Riverside	336	13.8	50.6	224	9.2	75.8
Sacramento	612	15.9	56.2	439	11.4	78.3
San Diego	2,006	17.0	30.1	1,087	9.2	55.5
San Jose	1,289	15.2	27.9	770	9.1	46.6
Santa Ana	405	13.2	34.5	264	8.6	52.9
Average of Surveyed
Departments	2,281	16.7	37.8	1,252	10.1	60.3
San Francisco (Current)	2,092	27.7	25.7	1,322	17.5	40.7
San Francisco (Proposed)	1,869	24.7	28.8	1,322	17.5	40.7

(a) Source for this data is U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1993: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers, Table 11a, pp. 121-131. Increases in the number of sworn officers since 1993 were added to the 1993 figures.

(b) The number of crime incidents is based on the FBI Crime Index for the six-month period January through June, 1996 (annualized). The FBI Index consists of eight crimes (homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson), which serve as an index for gauging fluctuations in the overall volume and rate of crime.

As shown in Table 3.5, the SFPD currently has a higher number of sworn officers per 10,000 residents and a lower number of crime incidents per sworn officer than the average of the other six jurisdictions that submitted detailed survey responses. Additionally, the SFPD also has a higher number of officers responding to calls for service and a significantly lower number of crime incidents per officer than the average of the six other jurisdictions. The proposed reduction in the total number of authorized sworn positions would not affect the number of officers responding to calls for service or their workload.

As such, given the significant cost to fully comply with Proposition D, the Board of Supervisors may wish to consider, as a policy matter, submitting a ballot measure which would amend Charter Section 4.127 in order to facilitate the civilianization of sworn positions in the Police Department. Rather than recommending a specific number of full-duty sworn positions, this Charter Amendment should allow for the civilianization of existing sworn positions, as identified by the Police Department and Budget Analyst in this report, without resulting in additional personnel costs and without reducing the current level of police services. Additionally, this Charter Amendment should provide that any savings resulting from civilianization accrue to the General Fund. As a result of this Charter Amendment, the civilianization of the 157 sworn positions identified in this report would result in a savings of up to $2,242,618 per year to the City.

Option 2: Using Savings from Civilianization to Hire Additional Sworn Officers

A second option would be for the Police Department to civilianize the 157 functions identified in Attachment 3.1 and to use the savings realized from civilianization to hire additional Police Officers. As such, the $2,242,618 in potential annual savings identified by the Budget Analyst could be used to hire 46 new Q2 Police Officers, based on a starting salary (including fringe benefits) of $48,906 per year. These additional 46 Police Officers could be assigned to police duties, such as neighborhood community policing, investigations or patrol. Exercising this policy option would also require the approval of a Charter Amendment by the voters. As noted above, rather than recommending a specific number of full-duty sworn positions, this Charter Amendment should allow for the civilianization of existing sworn positions, as identified by the Police Department and Budget Analyst in this report, without resulting in additional personnel costs and without reducing the current level of police services. Additionally, in accordance with this policy option, this Charter Amendment should also provide that any savings resulting from civilianization be used to hire new Police Officers to perform community policing duties. This policy option would not result in any additional costs or savings.

Additionally, the Budget Analyst recommends that the civilianization of the sworn positions identified in this report be implemented through attrition, as positions are vacated by existing sworn personnel. According to the Police Department, the civilianization of these sworn functions would take from three to five years to implement.

Conclusions

As a result of the restrictions imposed by Proposition D, approved by the voters in June, 1994, on the minimum level of full duty sworn personnel, the Police Department is not currently in compliance with the other provisions of Proposition D, including civilianization and an increase in the number of sworn personnel dedicated to community policing and other police activities.

In fact, the Police Department has undergone a process of "reverse civilianization," in which an increasing number of sworn personnel are performing clerical, administrative and other functions that do not require peace officer status. Meanwhile, there has been a trend towards greater civilianization in other large police departments in California and nationwide.

As a result, the Police Department is incurring as much as $2.24 million per year in excess personnel costs by using sworn personnel to perform administrative, technical support and/or other non-police functions. This practice can also have a demoralizing effect on existing civilian employees who are being paid less for performing similar functions. Additionally, hiring civilian employees with greater expertise in functions currently being performed by sworn personnel would improve productivity.

Fully implementing the provisions of Proposition D, through civilianization of non-police functions now performed by sworn personnel could result in additional costs to the City of as much as $8.7 million annually because offsetting reductions in sworn staffing would be prohibited, despite the fact that such reductions would not affect the current level of sworn staffing actually performing police duties.

The Board of Supervisors should consider, as a policy matter, submitting a ballot measure to the electorate to amend Charter Section 4.127 (Proposition D) in order to facilitate the civilianization of sworn positions in the Police Department. Civilianization would enable the Police Department either to (a) realize savings of up to $2,242,618 per year without reducing the current level of police services; or (b) use this savings to hire an additional 46 Police Officers dedicated to community policing, patrol and investigations.

Policy Options

Costs and Benefits

Amending Proposition D to facilitate the civilianization of up to 157 administrative, clerical and/or other non-police functions currently being performed by sworn personnel would result in annual savings of $2.24 million annually, without reducing the current level of police services.

Alternatively, this $2.24 million in savings from civilianization could be used to hire as many as 46 new Police Officers, based on a starting salary (including fringe benefits) of $48,906 per year. These additional Police Officers could be assigned to performing police duties, such as community policing, patrol and investigations.

Additionally, hiring civilian employees with greater expertise in functions currently being performed by sworn personnel would result in increased productivity.