SFPD gets support, some skepticism, for proposed station boundary changes
The San Francisco Police Department unveiled its new proposed police station boundary maps at an in-person meeting on Tuesday, and attendees' reactions ranged from skepticism to support: Some said they were thankful of the changed borders, which may roll out in 2025 or 2026, while others said it would still not help response times.
"You have some of those alleys along Polk being covered by two police stations, Northern and Central," said Chris Schulman, the executive director of the Lower Pole Community Benefit District and one of just a half-dozen attendees inside the Koret auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch. The new borders, he said, would fix the problem.
"It's really challenging," he continued, saying Lower Polk is an area where three police stations converge — Central, Northern and Tenderloin, creating confusion amongst residents. That would not be the case under the new proposed maps. "We have people who don't know who to call and individual officers will come out and say, 'This isn't ours, this is ours.'"
A man who lives in a section to be added into the Northern Station around the US-101 exit said that when his house fell under the Southern Station, response time was sometimes four hours. He described frequent drug usage and loitering, and asked SFPD Senior Project Manager Maria Cowman to reconsider that move and instead add the area to Mission Station, the closest station to him.
Cowman agreed with the man and said there had been a debate on whether to add the area to Northern and Mission. At the end, the first had been selected because if the boundaries moved from north to south on Van Ness, then it would be easier for those officers at Northern to respond.
Pratibha Tekkey, an employee with the Tenderloin Housing Clinic , also spoke in support of walking back changes made 10 years ago when South of Market and Westfield Mall were added to the Tenderloin Station.
"We recognized this would be a humongous lift for the Tenderloin Station," said Tekkey. Tenderloin Station is oversaturated with calls as it is, she said, without having to deal with SoMa too. "We have spoken to some of the residents who live in the neighborhood and we definitely support map number one."
Under the city's administrative code , SFPD and the police commission are required to review precinct boundaries every 10 years and make adjustments as needed. On Tuesday, SFPD Assistant Chief David Lazar, and Cowman presented the proposed maps.
Those maps, which would need to be adopted by the police commission, may not go into effect at all: The law only requires that a review, not changes, be made.
"A change is not required. However, the entire analysis is," said Cowman. "At the end, the police chief makes a recommendation to the police commission, and then they then decide what the ultimate boundaries will be."
SFPD Chief William Scott is expected to deliver the maps to the police commission by Jan. 1 of 2025. The commissioners will then review and approve any changes by April at the earliest, and changes would go into effect by July 1, 2026, at the latest.
"We look at this entire city and we say, 'How can we be more effective and more efficient in terms of our boundaries?'" said Lazar. "With this analysis we're trying to figure out the best way to police, deploy resources and adequately staffed stations."
Out of the two proposals presented, the first and recommended map would shift the boundaries of eight of the city's 10 police stations and will make a total of 15 changes: Mission Station would gain parts of the Tenderloin starting at 13th Street and ending at 9th Street and another chunk from Market Street to Division Street; it would lose part of the Castro to Park Station.
Bayview Station would get parts of Mission Bay, while Southern Station would get parts of Market Street. Tenderloin Station would get parts of lower Nob Hill and extend its boundaries to Van Ness Avenue instead of Larkin and Polk streets, while Central Station would get parts of Nob Hill.
Parks Station would get a section of Golden Gate Park and some of the Castro, Richmond Station would get parts of Laurel Village and Northern Station would get a section of Market Street around Van Ness Avenue extending to the 101 exit. Only Taraval and Ingleside stations would not see any changes.
The driving forces for the first map, Cowman said, are the narcotics issues in downtown and the Tenderloin, the shifting in the community along Van Ness Avenue now that constructions are over and the need for workload balance between stations.
Alongside the "recommended map," police brass also presented a second map with just four small changes: Mission Station would gain a sliver around Utah and Mariposa streets. Tenderloin Station would expand its westward boundaries to Van Ness Avenue. Park Station would add a small section of Golden Gate Park and Laurel Village. Northern Station would get a small section around Market and Dolores streets.
Cowman outlined the factors considered when reviewing and drawing new maps: population density of residents and non-residents, high concentrations of youth and elderly residents, concentrations of arrests and 911 calls, anticipated need for police resources, staffing requirements, community input, and even landscape features.
The department has been working with members of its field operation bureau, a steering committee, public surveys and data on calls and services in the design of the maps. Two members of the police commission, President Cindy Elias and Kevin Benedicto, have also been part of this process.
Both Lazar and Cowman said that SFPD has received input from the community for months and incorporated it to draw up the new borders. Redrawing boundaries, they said, would not require additional funding and likely not alter the department's budget.
The last time the police department changed its boundaries was in 2015, when the Westfield Mall moved from Southern Station to Tenderloin Station, alongside other, smaller changes.
Once the maps are submitted to the police commissioners, there will be a 90-day period for public comment for members of the public during the commission's meetings./
