See news reports and information about Patrol Special Police Officer Robert Burns and his recommendation for a SFPD Medal of Valor for bringing down a gunman who had murdered one and injured four outside Suede Nightclub in Fisherman’s Wharf on Feb. 7, 2010. The San Francisco Patrol Special Police have issued an official media advisory regarding this incident. 

1. Officer.com 10/17/12 - O'Brien, Ore citizens form citizen patrol to assist where sheriff's department staffing is cut back due to budgets.
2. Dayton Daily News, Ohio 9/19/12 - police chief says private police are necessary. Note that the Cinncinnati city-chartered private police are most similar to the Patrol Specials in San Francisco. Three major private companies provide private police who are trained by the city police department, much as in San Francisco.
3. LA Times 8/1/93 "Private Patrol Supplements Police" Koreatown, Los Angeles
4. 1991 Freeman - "The Growth of Privatized Policing."
5. SF Chronicle 5/1/12 - "Council questions strategies on crime - Oakland crime jumps 19%." Echoing the April warning of San Francisco Police Chief Suhr, the experience of Oakland shows crime on the rise even as Oakland officer numbers shrink from 837 in 2008 to roughly 650 today.
6. May 2012 Community Policing Dispatch (US Office of Community Policing) - "'What’s Your Police/Sheriff Department “Brand Reputation' and does your agency provide “Customer Service”? Note that the reputation and "brand" of the Patrol Special Police is and has been from initiation of the private neighborhood police force in San Francisco in 1847, based on the democratic way service is determined and delivered. First, service arises from the requests/priorities of the client who pays for service. Thus, Patrol Special service is not 'privatized' but almost exclusively 'private' inasmuch as there are miniscule taxpayer dollars involved for occasional police commission's or SFPD's administrative time. The City does not 'contract out' to this neighborhood police force, but clients pay the hourly rates. Clients also set service priorities via private contracts in consideration of the officers' experience and advice, plus best policing practices guidelines. Second, clients may terminate contracts typically with one's month notice if they are dissatisfied. This motivates the officer to perform competently and fully. Most neighborhoods who employ an officer, continue to do so for year after year, because an additional, uniformed and trained officer on the streets acts to deter crime and resolve incidents quickly, at the lowest level.
7. Blog by E. Peters 4/17/12 - "Services rendered, but not at gunpoint."
8. SF Examiner 4/10/12 - "Cop shortage might reverse crime gains." Note that SF district station staffing has declined by 10%.
9. SFGate/SF Chronicle 4/5/12 - "New plan to bolster diluted police ranks." 1,756 full-duty SFPD police officers falls 215 short of the number mandated by city voters. Three years from now, the projected shortfall will balloon to 491, Police Chief Greg Suhr reported Wednesday. The proposed budget has no money for hiring for the next two years. (Patrol Specials can fill in supplemental patrol services to take up the gap in neighborhoods that desire more safety.)
10. Police Oracle 3/22/12 - In Surrey, Hatsfield, Portsmouth and other English cities, the police may and do delegate community security in public places to private security companies, and work cooperatively with them.
11. Downtown DC 3/9/12  - Report on crime in downtown Washington, DC 1999-2010. At the heart of this transformation is better social control in public spaces. The Downtown "BID’s" (special business tax districts) corps of highly visible Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance workers, known as SAMs. From the beginning, these roving concierges, law enforcement aides and goodwill ambassadors have worked to create a safe and welcoming environment seven days a week, 362 days a year by serving as the ears, eyes and caretakers of Downtown. “Crime can be tackled in any number of ways,” said Bradley. “The best defense is an aggressive offense. The hard work and dedication of our Downtown SAMs made this possible, as did partnerships in both the public and private realms—particularly with the Metropolitan Police Department—which refocused attention on the quality of public spaces to create remarkable urban experiences. ” Note: In San Francisco, BIDs are called CBDs, and the Patrol Specials provide similar "social control" patrolling. They use non-escalating techniques to quell disturbances, find community resources for those in need about to act out, and provide a calming effect on the streets, especially after hours at and near the entertainment clubs
12. National Bureau of Economic Research paper April 2010 - By Dean Philip Cook and Prof. MacDonald of Duke University: "private actions arguably deserve a central role in the analysis of crime and crime prevention policy" but have been largely ignored. Private security such as that offered by BIDs (special business districts) is a cost-effective way to curtail crime and has helped reduce illegal behavior by 3.4 crimes for every $10,000 spent by the average BID—effectively buying some $200,000-worth of crime prevention. In comparison, the Washington, DC Downtown BID safety budget, which allocates $3.3 million for Safety/Hospitality workers, provides $66 million worth of crime prevention.
13. SF Examiner 3/2/12 - Public safety in Delores Park
14. The Daily (Detroit) 2/5/12 - Private security increasing as public police drop from 5000 to 3000 in Detroit.
15. The Washington Times 7/14/11  - Wash, DC uses fire dept. employees as additional "uniformed presence" to protect students at night until 4 am, in place of police patrols. Police union follows usual course to oppose this creative use of other gov't employees to help address public safety needs. "Having enough officers has been an ongoing problem for D.C. police officials as they often lose them to higher-paying agencies in and around the city. The department employs about 3,850 officers, and officials have routinely testified about the need to hire hundreds more this year to offset an attrition rate that is expected to cut the force to 3,700 by next summer."
16. Wall Street Journal 6/29/11 - Alto, TX closed police department. "Keeping the peace is rarely a revenue-making operation and is easier to outsource to county or state agencies than responsibilities such as utilities, some officials say. Others see advantages in having a bigger, more professional force patrol their communities." Private policing such as the Patrol Specials in San Francisco, is one of the fastest growing careers in the US.
17. SF Bay Guardian 6/28/11 - SF General prefers to hire private security to the Sheriff: “If a patient isn’t breaking the law,” he said, “a deputy sheriff won’t intervene.” More: “Private security can intervene. They’re not bound by the same limits that a deputy sheriff is bound by.” Patrol Specials likewise treat everyone creating a disturbance with respect, considering the welfare of all, and without a goal of arresting anyone, but solving a community problem at the lowest level. SF General has an existing resource they haven't yet considered.
18. Officer.com 5/16/11 - "N.J. Crime Increases Raise Issue of Police Layoffs." Killings in over the long Easter weekend brought Newark's murder total to 28 in 2011, a 65 percent increase over the 17 killed in the same period a year ago and double the number for the first four months of 2009, according to statistics from the county prosecutor's office. The increase has come after much-publicized layoffs that cut nearly 15 percent of the police force at the end of last year, creating an "I-told-you-so" moment for many observers inside and outside the law enforcement community."  Camden, a city that frequently appears on national "most dangerous" lists, has experienced similar increases this year on the heels of police layoffs that cost 167 officers - about half the department - their jobs, though the city was able to hire back 50 of them last month. From Jan. 1 to mid-April, violent crime in the city was up 18 percent compared to 2010.  The causality is very hard to ferret out.
19. SF Examiner 4/27/11 - San Francisco has new Police Chief Greg Suhr, 30 yr veteran, captain of the Bayview Station.
20. SF Examiner 4/13/11 - Union official proposes to keep same level of pension obligations and find funds to pay for it by taxing the rich. Out of touch with reality, perhaps?
21. SF Gate 4/15/11 - overtime heads for $40 million over budget.
22. Police Oracle 4/11/11 - 470 "special constabularies" in Lancashire, England, are supported by business, and composed of citizens who help the public police.
23. digitalcommunities.com 4/7/11 - San Carlos, CA contracts out its police dept. to the sheriff's dept. (but still involving taxpayer dollars) as one of the first cities to do so in Calif. "In the beginning there was opposition from the police officers and from the public. Fire and police services -- the bulk of many cities' budgets -- are critical for the safety and well-being of a community, and tinkering with them can be politically treacherous. In addition, city residents identify with the police and fire departments -- to the public, they are the city. But the city figured it could save $2 million per year -- 8 percent of the general fund -- and that finally won the day."
24. SF Examiner 4/7/11 - Budget deficits plague SF.
25. SF Examiner 3/30/11 - City departments were told to come up with 10 percent in cuts and another 10 percent in contingency reductions. Contingency cuts will have to be imposed, which will mean “deeper reductions to social services and public safety programs,” according to the memo.
26. SF Examiner 3/16/11 - Study on pensions 'shocking.' San Francisco now owes $4.476 billion in pensions to its employees but only has the money to pay roughly three-quarters of that cost. Every family in the city would have to pay $35,000 apiece to make up the difference.
27. Newsflavor 2/21/11 - Public teacher's unions leave class to protest proposed cutoff of collective bargaining rights (police and firefighters exempted) in Wisc. Civil service protections would remain intact, among other things including specifying employee rights to things such as vacation and overtime; prohibiting termination for reasons other than just cause; and creating procedures for employees to file grievances and to have those complaints heard. Have public unions outlived their usefulness to society other than for increasing already-substantial government worker salaries?
28. Officer.com 2/18/21 - McFarland, CA considering no police union for new police department. What are the cost ramifications of civil service status coupled with union status? Are they duplicative?
29. LA Times and CBS News 2/15/11 - "Report finds Bell officials joked of acting like pigs." Former police chief (Randy Adams; retired from another police department and drawing a pension) sent email to the then-asst. city manager stating: "I am looking forward to seeing you and taking all of Bell's money." He has not to date been indicted or charged.
30. SF Chronicle - 2/7/11 - Retiring S.F. police brass cash in on way out
31. SF Examiner 2/3/11 - Walking while texting, danger!
32. SF Weekly 1/26/11 - "Premium pay earns City workers millions." See responsive Letter to the Editor.
33. SF Examiner 1/25/11 - "Deaths mark violent start to 2011."(Supervisor Ross) Mirkarimi has called for a town hall meeting in two weeks in the Western Addition/Hayes Valley area to bring city department leaders and community leaders together. ...'I am not going to let this persist without any intervention.' Mirkarimi suggested the troubling violent start to the new year is the result of the department’s backing off on the tenets of community policing, which includes foot beats and hiring officers from within the communities.  More here.
34. freep.com 1/21/11 - Detroit police chief thanks community patrol.  Information on formation of Detroit 300 in mid-August 2010.
35. SF Examiner 12/30/10 - Editorial: unions must share pain of budget cutbacks. Letter to Editor.
36. Washington Post 12/29/10 - A spike in law enforcement officer deaths. Note that "a variety of explanations have been offered for the rise in deaths, from slashed budgets that have fewer police working longer hours to more distracted and dangerous drivers. Although crime is on the decline, fund chairman Craig W. Floyd spoke of the existence of criminals who don't think twice - indeed, are even eager - to kill an officer of the law." Patrol Special Police as well as private security also face these dangers on a daily basis although they are not included in the above statistics.
37. NY Times 12/23/10 - Seven people shot, three fatally in one day. Layoffs of police officers and crime connection? Newark, NJ. In November the city laid off 163 police officers, about 13 percent of the force. Many residents feared the result might be a return to the rampant crime and bloodshed that dogged Newark for years. They were correct. Already this year, the city was experiencing a rise in crime, including murder rates in some neighborhoods that are double what they were last year. Indeed, since the layoffs, the city has seen several "waves of violence," including a three-day stretch last week with at least six carjackings and six shootings. Mayor Cory A. Booker criticized the Fraternal Order of Police for an "unwillingness to make one penny's worth of concessions in order to save jobs." He noted that all other city employee unions had made concessions in recent months.
38. NY Times 12/19/10 - City Retiree care to cost City 4.4 billion. Moody’s Investors Service downgraded San Francisco’s debt rating in November, citing the enormous retiree health-care obligations, among other factors.
39. WLWT TV - Cincinnati, OH -  Privately-paid police have full police powers and laid-off public police officers are applying.
40. SF Examiner 12/9/10 - SFPD citations drop in Ingelside District during election.  Letter to Editor.
41. Wall Street Journal 11/18/10 - "San Francisco Reconsiders Contract Patrol Service." Note that Patrol Special Police cover any City expense via required liability policies which the City does not require for off-duty SFPD officers who accept private policing assignments. Note as well that were typically lengthy, 2 to 3-yr SFPD-review process for applications for PSP officers speeded up, many more officers (there are some 16 present inquiries for jobs) could be on the street and addressing our unabated crime problem.
42. SF Weekly 11/10/11 - SF police department that is already composed of 76 percent out-of-town officers, will probably become even more unbalanced.
43. SF Examiner 11/7/10 - Letter to the Editor: There is no liability to the City: Patrol Special Police activities covered by police commission-required insurance.
44. Bay Reporter 10/28/10 - Patrol Special Police participate in Oct. 30, 4 pm Castro District "Whistle for Safety" Day
45. 2010 (website Dr. James Pastor) - "Security and Legal Protection: the Seattle Video Example" (See)
46. AP report 10/21/10 - "20-Year-Old Woman Becomes Mexican Police Chief" -- urges getting to know community and supports strong family values.
47. SF Examiner - 10/21/10 -SFPD's Community policing boards and crime.
48. SF Weekly News 10/20/10 - Let it bleed
49. New Haven Register 10/19/10 - Police Chief likes idea of friendly downtown patrol officer.
50. Mission Online 10/15/10 - "Patrol Specials under fire"
51. SF Examiner 10/9/10 - Foot patrol cuts anger residents
52. ABC TV news 10/7/10  - SFPD warns it could lose quarter of staff
53. SF Examiner 10/05/10 - Board renames plaza in Jane Warner’s honor
54. Wall Street Journal 9/30/10  - Private Security Forces Patrol Oakland. 
55. CaliforniaWatchBlog 9/28/10 - San Francisco's private police face scrutiny for violating city rules
56. SF Examiner 9/23/10 - Sixth Street crime surge.
57. Security Management (ASIS International online magazine) 9/1/10 - VIEWPOINT: The Free-Market Solution to America's Policing Crisis By James Pastor
58. SF Examiner 8/29/10 - Entertainment club owners meet with Mayor to discuss security needs
59. SF Examiner 8/27/10 - Extra work (overtime and private '10b' policing off duty) drains police officers. Ed. note: Patrol Specials don't work overtime but arrive fresh for patrols as part of their normal job. Thus citizens are not at risk from their impaired judgment due to overwork or lack of sleep.  See also The Snitch/SF Gate. Note also the same problem in New York City.
60. Lowell Sun (Massachusetts) 8/26/10 - Mass. Police Department enacts off-duty officer drinking rules. Ed note: Impaired judgment with injury can result not only from drinking in off-duty police assignments, but also from overtiredness. That is a crucial reason that employment of private Patrol Special Police Officers to provide any desired supplemental policing makes sense, rather than hire San Francisco's 10b off-duty SFPD officers; Patrol Specials do not work "off-duty" and overtime!
61. Mercurynews.com 8/25/10 - In Oakland after 80 police officers were laid off on July 15 to save $31 million dollars, in less than one month official stats show that robberies and assaults went up as did burglaries and vehicle thefts. City Council says "it's too early to be sure" about the cause.  (This article has been removed from website but is accurately summarized herein).
62. Wall Street Journal 8-21-10 - Cash-Strapped Cities Try Private Guards Over Police
63. 8/16/10 - San Francisco City Controller's Officer Report: Police Department: The Department Needs to Improve Its Controls Over Overtime and Premium Pay
64. SF Examiner 8/8/10 - Cash Strapped Cities Try Private Security Over Police - Objections cited in this news article, do not apply to the San Francisco Patrol Police, such as those heard from public police and police unions regarding citizen investigators implemented in San Francisco in July, 2010 (and in Mesa by our Police Chief there), or security guards called in by the Oakland City Council in August 2010 to help cover for the 80 police officers laid off in mid July, 2010. Regarding the citizen investigators, a Mesa officer Rick Perine, a police union trustee, said that they: "can't carry a gun and a badge and throw on a bulletproof vest and back us up." Regarding the Oakland security guards, OPD spokesperson Jeff Thomason said, "People want to go with armed guards because they believe it's cheaper, but they lack adequate training [and] background checks. Oakland police are better prepared for this city's streets than a few security guards." The San Francisco Patrol Specials are annually trained by the Police chief standards, and pass background checks by the SFPD to begin with. They are legally armed, wear bulletproof vests, are uniformed much like an SPFD officer, are structured under the SFPD and regulated by the Police Commission, and are on police radio frequencies -- and cost the taxpayer only a pittance of an administrative cost to regulate the program, since hourly rates are paid by residents and merchants who care about their neighborhood, business and personal safety.
65. NY Times 8-13-10 - In Oakland, Private Force May Be Hired for Security
66. SF Examiner 8/2/10 - Safeway battles thieves and police
67. Salon.com 7/27/10 - San Francisco police to use civilian investigators
68. New York Times 7/22/10 - SFPD Patrolling Near Clubs Carries High Cost. Video report from KPIX CBS 5.  Note that a SFPD officer calls for clubs to pay for private policing. The Patrol Specials provide effective club policing at only $48/hr. compared to off-duty SFPD officers for private policing at $109/hr if patrol cars are required. Patrol Specials do not consider this important crime-preventing policing of clubs to be "baby sitting."
69. SF Examiner 7/22/10 - City Budget finally approved, but suspect?
70. SF Examiner 7/21/10 - Bell, CA (city of 38,000 near LA) police chief earns more than LA Police Chief! Residents organize. Police Association members join residents to protest high salaries.  See also the Bloomberg report.  Note that the police chief and two other leaders, resigned on Friday, July 23.  Click here to see SF Examiner 7/27/10 article.
71. SF Examiner 6/24/10 - Crime in City to Heighten This Summer
72. LA Times 6/23/10 - Maywood city declares bankruptcy due to city refusal to provide liability insurance to police department because of excessive lawsuits for brutality and other. 
    Note, Patrol Special Police are consistently reported by all to be professional, courteous, and compassionate. On March 12 the Police Chief noted that he is aware that "There’s no question that in some places there are people who certainly are in favor of having Patrol Specials. This is not to take away from the quality of service that Patrol Special officers provide because I think some of them are very professional and they are very courteous and very effective in what they do. ”
73. SF Examiner 6/15/10 - Police take over one hour to respond to quality of life crimes.
74. SF Examiner 6/6/10 - Two memorials for Officer Warner planned.
75. SF Examiner 6/6/10 - By Erin Sherbert, Patrol Specials gather to honor fallen officer
76. Libertarian Party 6/6/10 - Memorial for Officer Jane Warner on June 9
77. SF NYI Net 6/7/10 -  Memorial mentioned
78. Bay Area Reporter 6/3/10 -News in Brief - Memorial mentioned
79. Noe Valley Voice June 2010 - Memorial services for Officer Jane
80. Bay Area Reporter 5/27/10 - Support for Jane Warner Plaza grows.
81. SF Examiner 5/26/10 - Letter to the Editor: Remembering Officer Jane: where are the roses?
82. SF Weekly 5/19/10 - Did SFPD needlessly hound a rival officer (Jane Warner) while she lay dying of cancer?
83. SF Weekly 5/18/10 - Castro Plaza may be named in honor of Officer Jane Warner.
84. Cafe Flore 5/14/10 - client of Officer Jane Warner, honors her service.
85. Bay Area Reporter 5/7/10 - Officer Jane Warner's beats are covered in the Castro; message from her new manager.
86. SF Examiner 5/7/10 - More than 30 SFPD officers' histories of criminal convictions should have been disclosed to defense attorneys, but weren't. (What are the implications on convictions obtained without this crucial defense information?). Note, Patrol Special Police Officers are not approved by the SFPD if they have a criminal conviction history, even an infraction or misdemeanor, apparently contrary to the SFPD standards for its own officers.
87. The Economist 4/8/10 -  "The Mean Streets of Guildford" - how private security is an effective and cost-savings safety program.
88. SF Chronicle 4/27/10 - SF government worker/SFPD salaries (and overtime earned). Note the below top four SFPD earners. Officer Keohane ranking no. one, retired last year and now earns 90% of his last three years' annual salaries, paid for by us taxpayers our of the city coffers for every single year that he lives. San Franciscans earn only about $47,000 on an average per year. Note Ingleside Captain Cassenego falls 43d in ranking, and earned $80,000 in overtime last year plus a salary of $236,597. The SFPD officer who shepherds applications for new Patrol Special officers (from the office who has lost applications over the years, and taken 1 to 17 years to process them), earned $147,660 plus $12,548 in 2009. Should overtime be abolished? Should the entire off duty SFPD policing program known as "10b" be abolished, and the need fill with incredibly reasonably priced Patrol Specials?
89. Contra Costa Times 4/22/10 - BART police spend too much time in patrol cars
90. SF Examiner 4/2/10 - Op Ed: Leave community policing needs to capable Patrol Special Police
91. SF Examiner 4/1/10- Letter to Editor:  Patrol Specials an asset to San Francisco
92. SF Examiner 4/16/10 - San Francisco standing tall - an early history.
93. New York Times 3/26/10 - As Budget Gaps Widen, San Francisco Police Salaries Grow
94. SF Examiner 3/13/10 - Health plans (and high pension costs) bleeding The City amid deficit woes.
95. SF Bay Guardian 3/12/10 - Supes pass resolution protecting SF Patrol Special Police Officers
96. SF Examiner 3/1/10 - Supervisors back enhanced penalties for those who attack Patrol Specials
97. SF Examiner 2/24/10 - Letter to the Editor on the cause of the public safety and SFPD fiscal crises.
98. SF Weekly 2/9/10 -  Patrol Specials Identify Officer Who Shot Suspect in Nightclub Gun Battle
99. AP Wire 2/11/10 - Seattle unarmed private security officers refuse request by 15-yr old girl to protect her from assault, because powers limited to 'observe and report', girl robbed, injured and sues.
    *Note Patrol Special Police are armed, trained, and will act to protect life and injury; they are not private security guards.
    
100. CBS4 2/2/10 - Miami Beach Police: No Off-Duty Super Bowl Work by Michael Williams
101. Notes from Mayor’s Press Conference 1/29/10 with San Francisco Police Chief Gascon and staff
102. January 29, 2010 SFPD struggling to make budget cuts San Francisco Examiner
103. SF Chronicle 1/28/10 - San Francisco's Pension Fund the Envy of Others
104. Christian Science Monitor 1/27/09 - As Property Crimes Mount, More Neighbors are On Patrol
105. SF Examiner 1/25/10 - Spike in young robbers
106. SF Examiner 1/19/10 - Glen Park private patrol program receives glowing reports
107. SF Chronicle Editorial "A Pension Scandal" 1/18/10 - Pension spiking (by public unions)
108. World Journal 1/12/10 - Police charged with the public security and peace outreach to community
109. SF Examiner 1/6/10 - Dufty urges protections for patrol specials
110. SF Weekly 1/4/10 - Who Likes Cops? Survey Claims Police-for-Hire More Popular than SFPD
111. Bay Area Reporter 12/31/09 - Patrol Special officer injured in Christmas melee
112. Op Ed article by Police Chief 12/30/09 - Chief announces certain cutbacks in public police this year
113. SF Examiner 12/21/09- Police Department records distorted (crime underreported says Police Chief)
114. SF Examiner, 12/21/09 - Chief cracks down on overtimee
115. SF Examiner 12/16/09 - Patrol Special Police offer to serve on public buses
116. SF Weekly 12/14/09 - San Francisco the Worst Run City in the US
117. Bay Area Reporter 12/10/09 - Police chief calls for community involvement
118. ABC Channel 7 News 12/4/09 - SFPD chief launches crackdown on overtime abuse
119. SF Examiner 4 /13/09 - High cost of off-duty police program known as 10b, threatens street festival organizers
120. SF Examiner 3/6/09 - Glen Park Patrol Special Safety Program
121. Channel 2 Evening News with Rob Roth 3/6/09 - video coverage on Glen Park Patrol Special Safety Program
122. Gallery of Images from the Glen Park Festival 4/09
123. Video clip of celebration on famed Castro Street with Patrol Special Police standing watch.
124. SF Weekly 4/19/95 - Cops vs. Cops
125. Time.com 1/24/77 - The Law: Police For Hire (early article on the Patrol Special Police).