Paul Yep named as Chief of Public Safety by Mayor-Elect Lurie

SAN FRANCISCO - Paul Yep, a retired police commander at the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and highly-respected law enforcement leader in the Chinese community, is named by Mayor-Elect Daniel Lurie as Chief of Public Safety.

The latest appointment for Yep to serve at Lurie's administration is announced on January 2, 2025. As the Chief of Public Safety, Yep will coordinate with 11 city departments and agencies related to issues and services of public safety including SFPD and the District Attorney's Office.

After the victory in the November 2024 election, Lurie made an announcement to restructure the Office of the Mayor for better overseeing and coordinating with 56 city agencies.

Under Lurie's plan to reform City Hall, he will add four policy chiefs and a budget director as a level of Chief of Staff to enhance effectiveness and accountability in four major areas, public safety; housing and economic development; infrastructure, climate and mobility; as well as public health and wellbeing.

All four Chiefs will report to Lurie directly. Lurie first named Ned Segal as Chief of Housing and Economic Development in December 2024. Segal previously served as Co-Chair of the Lurie for Mayor campaign and Chief Financial Officer at Twitter.

Lurie named Yep as Chief of Public Safety on the day after the New Year day. Lurie will be sworn into office on January 8. It is expected that Lurie will name Chief of Public Health and Chief of Infrastructure prior to his inauguration.

In his upcoming role as Chief of Public Safety, Yep will coordinate with eight city departments, Adult Probation, Police Accountability, Department of Emergency Management, Fire Department, Sheriff Inspector General, Juvenile Probation, Police Department, Victim and Witness Rights. He will also serve as point of contact with three agencies, the Offices of Sheriff, District Attorney, and Public Defender. The top positions of these three city agencies are elected by city voters.

Yep was born in San Francisco Chinatown and grew up at the Ping Yuen housing project. He joined the SFPD as a patrolman in 1994 and retired in July 2023 as a Commander overseeing SFPD's risk management.

During his campaign for mayor, Lurie promised public safety would be one of his top priorities in his administration. “I’m proud to announce Paul Yep as the first ever Chief of Public Safety. Paul has dedicated his career to keeping San Franciscans safe and there is no one better for this critical job,” Lurie said.

Yep was also the first Chinese American community leader to stand firmly to support Lurie in his early campaign days.

In an interview with Wind Newspaper, Yep shared his thoughts of supporting Lurie for mayor. "I knew Daniel [Lurie] chose to run for mayor for all the right reasons: serve the city, make changes and hold the city accountable for delivering services. Daniel impressed me with his combination of strength and compassion as a leader," said Yep who solely endorsed Lurie over other mayoral candidates.

"Daniel brings a fresh perspective and innovative, common sense plans to restore safety for our City," Yep added. "Daniel renewed my passion to return to serve the city and I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to work with him to restore our public safety services."

"We will be addressing concerns collaboratively, including strengthening and unifying community ties and city resources to enhance public safety citywide," Yep talked about his future plan in playing a new role serving the city.

"As the Chief of Public Safety for the Mayor’s Office, I will be working tirelessly with Mayor Lurie and our community partners to address our top public safety challenges and better coordinate the response across the city’s numerous public safety agencies," Yep said.

"We will make change, restore public safety, conserve resources, and provide service and accountability to our city," Yep continued. "I am excited and fully committed to making San Francisco a safer city for all, and one that we will all be proud of once again."

Since his retirement at the SFPD in July 2023, Yep has served as Vice President at the Academy of Arts University in San Francisco, where he has provided leadership and oversight for their Campus Safety and Lab Resources Departments.

During his tenure at the SFPD for over 28 years, Yep gained broad experience in almost all areas in a police department. In addition to his early patrol duties, Yep worked in more specialized assignments as an investigator on domestic violence, vice crimes/human trafficking cases, as a Lieutenant at the Community Relations Unit, and as the Director of Basic Training for the Police Academy.

After Yep was promoted to the rank of Captain on the SFPD's management level, he was one of the most senior Captains serving as commanding officer for three police stations, Richmond, Central, and Northern Stations. When he was promoted to Commander, he was assigned to oversee the Risk Management Division until his retirement.

Robert Chiang, Presiding President of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) and board member of San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce, praised the appointment of Yep to serve as Chief of Public Safety.

Chiang acknowledged Yep as a well-qualified Chinese American to serve at the top position for public safety. "I expect Lurie would appoint more qualified Chinese Americans to key positions in his new administration. Our community needs more city leaders like Paul [Yep] who are qualified to do the job and well-connected with us to serve our community," said Chiang.