Amid the ongoing debate over policing in San Francisco, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has made his stance clear. In a recent post, he stated, "San Francisco must REFUND the Police not continue to DEFUND the Police. Our Police need to be empowered now — not this new terrible decision to end pretext stops. Our SFPD and Sheriffs are the absolute key to a safe and clean San Francisco every day," as reported by KRON4. This statement came in direct response to the recent policy by the San Francisco Police Commission that bans pretextual stops — a maneuver criticized for its disproportionate use against Black and Latino drivers.
Benioff's comments underscore a pushback against the policy changes influenced by the "Defund the Police" movement, which gained momentum in 2020 and led to Mayor London Breed redirecting $120 million of law enforcement funding to the city’s Black community. Despite these reallocated funds, Mayor Breed's latest budget includes provisions to add 200 new officers to SFPD by the year's end, KRON4 has detailed. Benioff has advocated for expanding the San Francisco Police Academy and increasing the officer count, emphasizing the need to return to more than 2,000 officers and the total enforcement of laws.
It is pertinent to note that Benioff has previously expressed concerns about public safety in San Francisco, particularly regarding issues tied to homelessness and open-air drug markets. Such anxiety had once put the city's hosting of Salesforce's massive Dreamforce Conference in question. However, these threats have not materialized into actual withdrawal, and this year’s event is still slated to occur in the city, as KTVU reports.
Addressing Benioff's concerns, Mayor London Breed took to social media to outline measures her administration has taken about public safety and policing. “Increased SFPD pay for starting officers, Academies are up, and officers are transferring here, Police budget is 30%+ higher than in 2018, We are adding new cameras and drones to fight crime,” Breed listed. Under her tenure, crime rates have notably decreased, with crime in San Francisco at a 10-year low and property crime down 34% from the previous year, showcasing results that argue for the measures' effectiveness despite recent policy shifts.
Marc — we agree. Look at what we’ve done:
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) July 19, 2024
•Increased SFPD pay for starting officers
•Academies are up, and officers are transferring here
•Police budget is 30%+ higher than in 2018
•We are adding new cameras and drones to fight crime
•Street crisis teams are responding 24/7… https://t.co/BvuD0oCETu
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