The next time you or a neighbor experiences a car break-in or home burglary, it may not be the men and women in blue that respond to your police call. It could be a “civilian investigator” that is part of the SFPD’s new pilot program that will kick off in January.
Designed to take some of the load off of sworn police officers, civilian investigators will be trained to respond to nonviolent crimes. They’ll gather evidence, conduct interviews, and photograph crime scenes.
The pilot program, which will train just 15 civilian investigators citywide, is designed to speed up response times, reduce costs and free up regular police officers to respond more quickly to violent crimes. Civilian investigators are expected to be stationed at just a couple of the city’s ten district stations.
After a recommendation from new Police Chief George Gascon, the pilot program was approved by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors at a cost of just under $1 million. The program projects that civilian investigators will cost half as much as a regular police officer.
If the time is now for you to come out of your bat cave and help the SFPD fight crime, you can apply to be a civilian investigator. Just visit a SFPD station house for an application – the closest to us is the Richmond District Police Station at 461 6th Avenue near Geary.
Just remember, with great power comes great responsibility. And the obligation to help your favorite blogger get out of their parking tickets. 😉
Sarah B.
this is utterly ridiculous & symptomatic of a failed society. why do we pay cops if we need civilians to do their jobs for them?