SFPD Names Nicole Jones Assistant Chief and Chief of Staff

The San Francisco Police Department announced on December 30, 2025, that Chief Derrick Lew had promoted Nicole Jones to Assistant Chief in a Chief of Staff role within the department's new command structure. The appointment, updated January 2, 2026, consolidates several internal functions under Jones and was presented by the department as a move to strengthen leadership and sustain public-safety momentum.

Jones brings more than 18 years in the department, with a career that spans patrol assignments and successive promotions through sergeant and lieutenant. As a lieutenant she created the Staffing and Deployment Unit. She later served as captain of Ingleside and commanded both the Administration Bureau and the Special Operations Bureau. The release notes Jones helped lead planning for major events including APEC 2023 and the 2025 NBA All-Star game.

Under the Chief of Staff designation, Jones will oversee Administration, Risk Management, Strategic Communications, Community Engagement, Government Affairs and Policy Development. Consolidating those portfolios under a single senior manager is intended to improve coordination across internal services, public messaging, and the department's external relations with city agencies and community groups.

For San Francisco residents, the reorganization has several practical implications. Centralized oversight of communications and community engagement may change how the department reports on crime trends, incident responses and policy changes. Bringing risk management and policy development together can accelerate revisions to training, use-of-force protocols and staffing models, but also concentrates decision-making authority within the command staff. Jones's experience with large-scale event planning signals the department expects continued emphasis on resource coordination for conventions, sports events and other gatherings that require complex security planning.

Institutionally, the move reflects a broader trend of municipal police departments streamlining command structures to improve responsiveness. It also places a sharper focus on oversight mechanisms. Civilian oversight bodies, the Board of Supervisors and community organizations will likely monitor whether the new structure produces measurable improvements in transparency, accountability and public safety outcomes. Budget priorities and staffing allocations tied to the reorganization will be of particular interest during upcoming departmental briefings and budget hearings.

Residents should watch for departmental updates on policy changes, community engagement initiatives and performance metrics tied to this reorganization. How the SFPD measures and reports on those outcomes will determine whether the new Chief of Staff role delivers the improved coordination and accountability the department has framed as its aim.