San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s budget request for the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year calls for a $63 million increase in spending for the police compared to the previous one.
Breed’s requested budget for the upcoming fiscal year is $14.6 billion, a record high for both San Francisco county and the city. The $63 million increase marks a 9% increase from what police would get from the 2022-23 fiscal year, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
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The requested budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year will likewise see police receive a higher amount than the previous fiscal year, going up by $11 million. In total, police would receive $787.9 million under Breed’s requested fiscal budget.
Breed announced in February that San Francisco intends to spend an additional $27.6 million this year 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 biggest increase in the proposed budget would be given to the Department of Public Health, which would be given 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.
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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.
San Francisco’s crime problem has drawn the attention of many people, including comedian Dave Chappelle, who recently made a surprise appearance in the city. During his standup routine, Chappelle joked that the city needs its own Batman to address its crime issues.
