The Police Department is implementing a comprehensive redistricting of its patrol Districts and Divisions—the first full redesign in more than 25 years. This effort modernizes how officers are deployed, strengthens supervision, and better aligns police services with today’s staffing levels, population patterns, and call volume.

Over the past two decades, the city has changed significantly. Population growth, development patterns, and calls for service have shifted, while police staffing levels have decreased. The existing patrol map no longer reflects operational reality. This redistricting is designed to fix that.

The primary goals of the new patrol District structure are to:

• Balance workload and calls for service more evenly across the city
• Reduce response times by sending the closest available officers to calls
• Strengthen on-the-ground supervision and leadership
• Modernize radio operations and call signs for clearer communication
• Preserve established neighborhoods and community relationships
• The Department is moving from 16 patrol Districts to 12, a structure that better matches current staffing levels and allows for stronger, more consistent coverage citywide.

Why This Matters

Under the new model, officers will be deployed more efficiently, supervision will improve and calls for service will be handled faster and more consistently. District-wide dispatching will replace beat-based dispatching, allowing dispatchers to send the closest available units to emergencies and lower priority calls instead of holding calls for a specific beat officer.

Larger, more balanced teams will allow each patrol team to have a dedicated sergeant, improving accountability, decision-making, and officer support. These changes are operationally focused and designed to deliver better service to the public.

Importantly, district boundaries were designed using natural features, major roadways, and historical community lines to avoid splitting established neighborhoods and to maintain long-standing community partnerships.

What the Public Can Expect

• Faster response times and fewer delayed calls
• More consistent police coverage across neighborhoods
• Stronger supervision and leadership within patrol teams
• Officers familiar with entire Districts—not just a single beat
• No changes to patrol shift lengths or start times

While some patrol Districts will expand and others will contract geographically, these adjustments are driven by workload and call volume, not arbitrary lines on a map.

Visit this link to view the interactive map and see how the change will affect where you live.

We invite the community members to visit our Engagement Portal and leave a comment about our Redistricting of the SJPD patrol districts.