San Francisco’s next crop of SFPD recruits is on track to graduate roughly 75% of its class, according to Mayor Daniel Lurie, a sharp climb from about 29% two years ago. If the trend holds in upcoming academies, it would mark a major boost in the number of recruits who actually make it through the city’s police training pipeline. City leaders are tying the turnaround to a batch of hiring and process tweaks designed to move qualified candidates into the department more quickly.
On March 31, 2026, Lurie took to X to tout the numbers, writing that “With our Rebuilding the Ranks plan, we are seeing the results of our hard work pay off,” while pointing to both the current 75% figure and the roughly 29% low point in 2024. In that post, Daniel Lurie on X highlighted a jump in applicants alongside stronger graduation rates as proof that his recruitment push is gaining traction. He framed the stats as part of a larger effort to get SFPD back to full staffing levels.
SFPD’s next academy class is graduating 75% of recruits. Just two years ago, the number hit a low of 29%.With our Rebuilding the Ranks plan, we are seeing the results of our hard work pay off. More people are applying to @SFPD, more qualified candidates are making it to the… pic.twitter.com/WIQnkxlGxj
— Daniel Lurie 丹尼爾·羅偉 (@DanielLurie) March 31, 2026
What’s Driving The Increase
City Hall points to a cluster of hiring fixes, including faster one-stop testing days, a “green light” fast-track for high-potential candidates, and a Special Events Officer program that leans on recently retired, POST-certified officers. Together, officials say, those changes have helped build a larger, better-prepared applicant pool. In a release from the mayor’s office, staff noted that SFPD received 2,155 applications from January through June 2025, a 64% jump over the same period in 2024. The mayor’s office credited these steps with helping candidates move more smoothly into the academy.
SFPD Training Output
Recent SFPD notices show some recruit classes now turning out larger graduating groups. The department’s release for the 284th recruit class lists 32 graduates and notes it was the first class since 2019 to surpass 30 recruits. That uptick, along with an increase in bilingual and college-educated entrants, gives some backing to the mayor’s claim that a higher share of recruits are making it to the finish line. SFPD’s news release lays out the official count and class details.
Staffing And The Road Ahead
Even with better academy throughput, San Francisco still has a sizable staffing hole to fill. Budget testimony and slide decks presented to the Board of Supervisors show a proposed funded level of about 2,161 sworn positions for fiscal 2026, while officials acknowledge that actual staffing sits below that mark. City budget testimony emphasizes that higher graduation rates have to be paired with stronger retention and timely field training if the city wants to cut down on chronic overtime and neighborhood vacancies. Officials say the real test will be whether new graduates complete their field-training program and stick with the department.
Debate Over Training Speed
The push to boost output has sharpened an internal debate over how fast SFPD should be moving recruits through the academy. Local reporting has captured discussions about shortening the academy from roughly nine months to six and the mixed reactions that idea has stirred among supervisors and training leaders. The San Francisco Standard reported that some leaders worry a shorter academy could hurt long-term performance, even as others argue that trimming the timeline is necessary to address urgent staffing shortages…