San Francisco’s Pro- Police Expansion Prop. E Gains Traction Ahead of Election

With only one week left before the Primary election on March 5th, San Francisco’s Proposition E, continues to gain support from many in the city. Prop. E would greatly expand the power of law enforcement in the city.

According to Prop. E, also known as the “Limit Police Department Administrative Task Time and Increase Use of Camera and Drone Technology Initiative,” it would allow for the following in the city:

• limiting the amount of time a patrol officer may spend on administrative tasks to 20% of on-duty time
• requiring written reports for use-of-force events only when a physical injury occurred or if a firearm was removed from an officer’s holster
• allowing body camera footage to satisfy reporting requirements
• allowing use of drones along with or instead of vehicular pursuits
• allowing installation of surveillance and facial recognition cameras without approval from the police commission or board of supervisors
• allowing the Police Department to hold community meetings before the Police Commission can change policing policies

In addition, many other policies would be ended, including a 2013 policy that limited police pursuits, with Prop. E allowing vehicle pursuits to be re-expanded to include both vehicle theft and retail theft.

Since being placed on the ballot, Prop. E has gotten support from all over the political field, as high crime rates, national and international embarrassment over crime, and many criminals not being prosecuted for crimes have made the economic situation in the city worse and has made the city seen unsafe to the majority of Americans. An unlikely alliance of Mayor London Breed, several supervisors including Matt Dorsey and Catherine Stefani, the San Francisco Police Officer’s Association (SFPOA), and the San Francisco Republican Party have joined forces in support of Prop E.

“Prop E gives officers 21st-century technology tools,” said Mayor Breed in her letter of support for the Proposition. “Prop E changes city policies to allow police officers to use publicly-owned cameras and public safety drones to prevent, investigate, and solve crimes. Right now, SFPD officers are prevented from using these tools in real-time to help prevent and solve crimes like retail theft, auto theft, and car break-ins. Prop E gets more officers out on the street.”

“Prop E changes rules to get more officers pursuing criminals. Prop E changes the rules to allow officers to actively pursue suspects of felonies and violent misdemeanors, including retail theft, vehicle theft, and auto burglaries, so long as the pursuit can be done safely. Right now, our officers are restricted in the actions they can take. Give our police officers the TOOLS to do their jobs with 21st-century technology, and change the RULES to get more officers out on the street deterring crime and pursuing criminals.”

SFPOA President Tracy McCray added, “I think we need every tool in the tool bag available to us. So, what can we do? Do we ban pursuits? Doesn’t mean that people who are committing crimes will be better drivers. Not at all. It’s still going to be happening. So, we need more tools. When we feel a pursuit has crossed that threshold to be more dangerous than, you know, maybe apprehending them at the time. It’d be nice if we could lift the drone up, right, and say, ‘OK, they can follow.'”

“Levelling the playing field, getting tools and technology to help us because we’re not pulling in people into this profession at the rate that we used to.”

61% of San Francisco voters favor Prop E

Unlike previous years where opposition to police and law enforcement expansion saw many groups and organizations jumping on the defund-the-police bandwagon, only a few have come out against Prop. E this year, with some community groups, the San Francisco Democratic Party, and the ACLU leading the charge.

“The measure would reduce transparency around police use of force, authorize the use of invasive secret surveillance technology, and weaken independent oversight of the San Francisco Police Department,” the ACLU said. “Prop E is about politics, not public safety. It is a rash attempt to exploit voters’ frustrations with crime to distract from an unpopular mayor’s record and hand more power to the SFPD. Prop E would recklessly undermine hard-won reforms designed to hold police accountable and protect the public from abuse.”

However, similar to the 2022 recall of then DA Chesa Boudin, the majority of voters in the city have had enough and want drastic changes. According to a San Francisco Chamber of Commerce poll earlier this month, voters are becoming more and more in favor in bringing back greater law enforcement powers and bringing tougher standards back to the city. Proposition F, which would require all welfare recipients in San Francisco County to undergo drug screening and receive treatment if they are to continue receiving city funds, currently has 61% of voters in favor of it. The same goes for Preop E, with 61% also in favor of it.

“Even only a few years ago, immediately post-George Floyd, Prop. E would have been a non-starter,” Rachel Garcia, a pollster who covers Marin County, San Francisco County and San Mateo County, told the Globe. “But, as we’ve seen, many people have viewed these policies on crime as detrimental. And they’re responding through the ballot box. Also, again, a few years ago, no Democrat would have put their name anywhere near a proposition like this. But now we have Breed and others joining with the Republicans and the police to get this done. She might be doing it to save her own skin, especially since all of her rivals for the Mayoral election are also for it, but she is still doing it. In fact, some voters we talked with specifically said that Breed was only in favor of it because of her situation right now.”

“The general consensus amongst voters in the city is that something needs to be done, and Prop. E is at least the start of that something. Many wanted this done years ago, but the strong pushback against police after George Floyd delayed action like this for several years. It’s better late than never, but at the same time, a lot of damage has been done.”

“Support for Prop. E is still growing. I mean, the 61% in the poll, even if you strip away the margin of error and any biases, that’s still the majority of voters right there. And this primary has some big ones, like presidential, Senate, and others on it, so people will show up. Yes, I would say this bill has more and more traction to it. People want change.”

Prop. E will be voted on by residents of San Francisco County on March 5th.