Yes, it’s happening again. In the midst of a severe budget shortfall, San Francisco is poised to give the San Francisco Police Department a massive $27.6 million budget increase to its current budget and a promise of signing bonuses – for a total of $740 million – before budget season negotiations even begin.

The call for increased funding and signing bonuses for new officers defies any reasonable and just use of public funds. Across the country and the world, we have already learned that our community’s safety is dependent not on increased policing, but on the funding of our social pillars, such as health, education, and safer streets. And yet, these crucial functions that boost the city’s wellness continue to be severely understaffed and underfunded.

At a time when many working class people and city workers in San Francisco are facing potential eviction, hunger, a lack of jobs offering living wages, and countless other crises that could be addressed by local government, it is unsurprising but disappointing to see the mayor and many supervisors fighting to instead increase the size and footprint of policing in our city. In the face of this injustice, we ask every San Francisco resident: when we give the Police Officer’s Association and SFPD priority and political weight over our teachers, public health workers, firefighters, and public defenders, what does this say about our priorities?

Reach out to Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors to implore them to use this money to build up our people and communities– invest in care, not cops!

https://tinyurl.com/stop-sfpd-giveaways