SFPD #1 recruitment problem. It needs a modern Police Academy

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 8.9.2025

Where are cop friendly Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors? I have never read a story about any elected officials talking about the overarching need to present a modern facility to the future generations of law enforcement in San Francisco.

Admittedly, I will be the last blogger to ever write that the cops are lacking in resources.

There’s an exception to every rule.

I was shocked to read the latest GrowSF newsletter with its searing critique of the San Francisco Police Department Training Academy. Located in a dilapidated not earthquake proofed elementary school from the 1960’s.

**SFPD recruits doing their exercises in the parking lot at the Police Academy**

The past several years the media has been deluging the public about all the presumed unmet needs of the SFPD and why San Francisco has trouble recruiting new officers.

I had no idea until this morning that, perhaps, the biggest reason why there is a 500 officer shortage can be found by looking at the current training facility.

**SFPD Academy vintage 1960’s classroom. Note the loose wires running along the** **floor**

Why would today’s tech knowledgeable future cops want to spend their long training period in what only be charitably described as an outdated Dump?

**SFPD recruits doing their push ups in former elementary school auditorium**

In comparison, the New York City Police Department has a modern up to date state of the art facility. Looking very much like a university campus.

While San Francisco welcomes its recruits with a dilapidated, rundown shabby old elementary school.

Other major cities have invested in modern training campuses. New York City opened a 32‑acre police‑academy campus in College Point, Queens in 2014. The official description from the NYC government notes that the campus contains about 750,000 square feet of usable space, including state‑of‑the‑art classrooms, a gymnasium, an indoor track and a “tactical village” with mock environments such as a precinct station, multi‑family residence, grocery store, restaurant, park, court room, bank and subway car. The New York Times notes that the project cost $950 million and features a physical and tactical‑training building with a gymnasium and swimming pool. In other words, New York treats police training as a public‑safety priority and invests accordingly.

https://growsf.org/research/2025-08-04-SFPD-Academy/

Top photo: Diamond Heights Elementary School, 1968, shortly before it became the SFPD Academy, Photo Credit: Modern Diamond Heights Project

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