San Francisco police appear to be poised to win new abilities to pursue criminal suspects and deploy technology to combat crime in the city, after voters appeared to overwhelmingly favor Proposition E.
According to unofficial election returns posted midday March 6, Prop E had garnered the support of 60% of San Francisco voters, making it highly likely the ballot measure backed by Mayor London Breed would ultimately be approved. The measure only requires a basic majority to become law.
The proposal would rewrite a number of rules now in place, which police and public safety advocates have said are handcuffing officers' efforts to fight crime.
Prop E would also notably create a stronger balance in the relationship between the city's police force and the civilian Police Commission which oversees the department and creates the policies and rules that govern how police can interact with the public and what they must do when pursuing or using force against criminal suspects, responding to calls for help or when making arrests, among other duties.
Notably, Prop E will enable police officers greater leeway when pursuing criminal suspects. Currently, police are limited to pursuing suspects fleeing in a vehicle only when the officer believes the suspect may have just committed a violent crime or presents an immediate risk to public safety, if officers were to let them go.
Anti-police activists have said such restrictions are needed to reduce the risk to the public from high-speed police chases.
Critics of the policy have asserted the policy amounts to allowing criminals to simply drive away from crime scenes to commit further crimes later, knowing police cannot pursue them.
Under Prop E, officers would be able to again pursue criminal suspects fleeing in a vehicle if the officers have a "reasonable suspicion" that a suspect has "committed, is committing or is likely to commit a felony or violent misdemeanor."
Further, Prop E would enable police officers to deply technology, potentially including drones, surveillance cameras and, in limited circumstances, facial recognition technology, to address criminal activity and help patrols in high-crime areas of the city.
And the measure would for the first time enable police leadership to push back against ever-tightening restrictions and policies imposed by the Police Commission in the name of social justice and equity, which many observers have blamed for brazen criminal activity, often in broad daylight in high-traffic areas, and relative high rates of violent and property crimes in recent years.
Notably, the measure would require the Police Commission to hold public hearings in all of the city's police districts before enacting new policies, and would allow the city's police chief to veto policy changes to slow down implementation of further anti-police reforms.
And the measure would further reduce the amount of written reports officers must complete. Currently, they are required to file reports each time they use "force" against a suspect.
Under the new proposal, they would be only required to complete such reports if a suspect is injured, or if officers use a weapon when dealing with suspects. Officers also could not be required to dedicate more than 20% of their work time to such paperwork.
Under Prop E, the Police Commission will have until Oct. 1 to draft new policies in keeping with the new law.
Prop E had drawn strong support from Mayor Breed, in a bid to shore up her support ahead of her reelection campaign next year.
In a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Breed thanked voters for apparently approving Prop E, saying it "will help us build on our work to make San Francisco a safer city for all."
"We are giving our (San Francisco Police) Officers more tools to do their jobs and getting them out on the street to take care of our community," the mayor said.
The measure was opposed by anti-police activists, led by the ACLU. Anti-Prop E activists attempted to persuade San Francisco voters that the measure will endanger people living in the city, while empowering police to use "dramatically" expanded surveillance capabilities to "discriminate" against immigrants and others in the city.