SF Mayor-Elect Lurie Selects Former SFPD Commander Paul Yep New Chief Of Public Safety

San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie announced on Thursday the creation of a new position in the city, the Chief of Public Safety, with former San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) commander Paul Yep as the new Public Safety Chief.

Throughout Lurie’s mayoral campaign last year, public safety and the reduction of crime were among his top issues. He vowed to fight crime, as well as make the city safe for San Franciscans again. Since defeating Mayor London Breed in November, Lurie has been busy setting up his administration, bringing in many people to make a smooth transition away from the Breed administration. While some picks have been a bit unusual, such as tapping former San Francisco Giants Vice President Staci Slaughter as his Chief of Staff, most have been pretty straight forward. He also hinted at four new “chief” positions last year for increased oversight. This led to Thursday when he announced both the new public safety czar position and Yep to run it.

According to Lurie, the Chief of Public Safety will oversee the SFPD, the San Francisco Fire Department, the Department of Emergency Management, the Office of the Sheriff Inspector General, Adult Probation, Police Accountability, Juvenile Probation, and Victim and Witness Rights. In addition, the Chief of Public Safety will also be the main point of contact between the Mayor’s office and the San Francisco Sheriff, the District Attorney, and the Public Defender’s office. As public safety department coordination had been largely criticized during the Breed era, with inter-department coordination often lacking at times when it was needed, the new Chief is to make sure that all relevant departments and offices are on public safety situations as needed. The incoming administration also noted that the new Chief will also be focused on neighborhood safety, street behavior, emergency preparedness and response.

Wanting someone with inter-department coordination experience, Mayor-elect Lurie selected a former SFPD commander, Yep, to be the first Chief of Public Safety. Yep served in the SFPD for 28 years prior to his retirement in 2023 as the Commander in the Chief of Staff’s Office overseeing the Risk Management Division. Since then, Yep has been the Vice President at the Academy of Arts University in the city, overseeing both the Department of Safety and the Department of Lab Resources.

“I’m proud to announce Paul Yep as the first ever Chief of Public Safety,” said Lurie on Thursday. “Paul has dedicated his career to keeping San Franciscans safe and there is no one better for this critical job. Together, we will support our law enforcement and ensure that every resident, worker, and visitor is safe in our city.”

“I am honored to join Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie’s team as Chief of Public Safety,” Yep said in a statement. “I look forward to leveraging my experience to help the Mayor-elect’s team execute his vision for building stronger and safer communities across our city.

“The rank and file and the departments do great work. And I think where the gap was that was identified by this administration, by the mayor-elect, is the communication piece and the coordination piece.”

Chief of Public Safety

The response to Yep’s selection has been mostly positive since the Thursday announcement, with many Department and office leaders expressing support for Yep.

“Paul Yep is a thoughtful servant leader who is deeply passionate about enhancing safety for every San Franciscan,” said Sheriff Paul Miyamoto. “I have known Paul personally for over 35 years since before our law enforcement careers. My office looks forward to working closely with Paul and the Mayor-elect to make San Francisco the safest big city in the nation.”

However, others noted just how big a role the new czar position is, and that it will likely take time before major improvements are seen on the street level.

“Whenever an ‘oversight’ position opened up or a new overseer was suddenly needed, people were often hesitant,” said Frank Ma, a former law enforcement official who now works as a security advisor for businesses in San Francisco and cities in the Peninsula. “Those ‘positions’ sounded great, but the fact that they were on top of so much, they were really easy to blame when things went bad, and higherups often used them as a scapegoat if something didn’t go right.

“I’ll refrain from being cynical though. San Francisco needs all the help it can get on the public safety front, and Yep is a class act. The city needed a long time cop who knows the city and it’s safety needs, and Lurie did well with picking  Yep. Cops like him not only know where the problems are, but also know what is needed so that people can be safe.

“You know, don’t expect San Francisco to be the sort of city where you can leave your doors unlocked or anything close to that. But, at the very least, give him the benefit of the doubt and some time and see what improvements he can bring. Lurie said he would make the city safer. Let’s see what he can do.”

Lurie is to be sworn in as the next Mayor of San Francisco on January 8th.