Capt. Paul Chignell: Police Beat

I receive a number of inquiries about the structure of the SF Police Department, so this month I will discuss the patrol force.

The SF Police Department has four major bureaus: Patrol, Investigations, Airport and Administration. But back to patrol. The patrol force is really called the Field Operations Bureau and essentially has the most officers of any of the bureaus, those being the officers in uniform who patrol the streets of San Francisco. This bureau encompasses the 10 district stations, Traffic Bureau, Tactical Unit, Youth Services Unit and the Homeland Security Unit.

The 10 stations are Central, Southern, Bayview, Mission, Northern, Park, Richmond, Ingleside, Taraval and Tenderloin. The stations have from 70-150 officers, depending on the size of the station and the crime issues that arise in each area. The stations each have a captain in charge, four lieutenants (two for days and two for nights), 15 sergeants and the remainder patrol officers. Stations also have civilian employees, which include clerks, police service aides and vehicle maintenance officers. The SF Department of Public Works also assigns a janitor to each station.

The Traffic Bureau has a number of functions that relate directly to traffic enforcement. Most of their personnel ride motorcycles and handle traffic accidents and write moving traffic citations.

The Tactical Unit provides specialized police service in tactical situations, demonstrations and other events.

The Youth Services Unit coordinates the deployment of officers in various schools throughout the City.

The Homeland Security Unit deals with state and federal agencies and handles functions relating to homeland security.

Capt. Paul Chignell is the commanding officer at the Taraval Police Station.