In June of 2015, an attempted robbery was thwarted by a quick-acting San Francisco Sr. Deputy Sheriff V. Chew when he observed a subject fleeing and others giving chase several blocks from the scene of a robbery.

The robbery, unbeknownst to Sr. Deputy Chew, originated outside the Civic Center headquarters of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Sr. Deputy Chew, who was driving in an unmarked vehicle, was able to catch up to and detain the subject. Kudos to Sr. Deputy Chew!

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department (SFSD), officially the City and County of San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, is the sheriff’s department for the City and County of San Francisco. The department has 850 deputized personnel, and support staff.

The primary function of the SFSD is to operate the system of county jails where there is an average population of 1,200 inmates, and a number of individuals on supervised release programs.

The SFSD also provides law enforcement and security services in the following locations in San Francisco:

• the civil and criminal courts
• City Hall
• the Emergency Communications & Dispatch center
• Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Laguna Honda Hospital, the Public Utilities Commission, the MTA  and several public health clinics

The current sheriff is Vicki Hennessy, the first female sheriff in the city-county (and the second in the nine-county Bay Area, after Virginia Clark of nearby Santa Clara County, as well as the fifth female sheriff in California, joining Margaret Mims [Fresno County], Laurie Craig [Glenn County] and Sandra Hutchens [Orange County]).

The SFSD is a separate organization from the San Francisco Police Department. However, SFSD deputies and SFPD officers have all attended a POST-mandated police academy, and are duly sworn California peace officers enforcing state laws and San Francisco Municipal Ordinances.