A private donor has offered the San Francisco Police Department a $9.4 million upgrade to its crime-fighting technology, and now it's up to the police commission to approve the proposed gift.
Crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, a tech executive and angel investor who helped develop Ripple software, says the donation is intended to benefit improve SFPD's technology and surveillance capabilities with license plate readers and drones.
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WATCH HEREA new location for the department's Real-Time Investigation Center also would be included at a vacant office at 315 Montgomery St., in the heart of the financial district. It's a space Ripple currently leases but is no longer using.
San Francisco police commissioners on Wednesday will debate whether or not to accept Larsen's gift. Larsen is a San Francisco native who also created and funded the SF Police Community Fund.
Mayor Daniel Lurie, who has helped raised almost $38 million in private funding for the city’s future budget proposals, supports the improvements Larsen's proposed donation would make.
"RTIC has already supported hundreds of arrests, with crime down 30% citywide, and with this new facility, the SFPD will have the tools and the technology it needs to take this work to the next level and help our officers keep our street safe," Lurie said in a statement.
If the police commission approves the proposed gift, San Francisco supervisors would then have the final say.
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