SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Ignatius Chinn worked the hardscrabble streets of Oakland for more than 20 years. He took on notorious organized-crime syndicates. He was promoted to detective, then supervisor. He served as an expert witness in gun-control cases.

Now, instead of looking back on his storied career, the 58-year-old lawman is starting over, taking a job on the night beat in San Francisco’s Bayview district.

Chinn is a “lateral transfer,” one of 10 recruits who left careers with other law-enforcement agencies to join the San Francisco Police Department.

Chinn has been in law enforcement since he joined the Oakland Police Department in 1970. Another recruit, William Ahern, is a Vietnam War veteran who investigated the Zodiac killings with the Department of Justice.

Not all the recruits are at the upper end of the age scale, however. The youngest of the group is 25 years old and has just two years of experience with the Pleasant Hill Police Department under his belt.

This is the second lateral transfer class to graduate since Mayor Gavin Newsom set a goal of hiring 700 new officers in five years.

The Police Department offers lateral transfers a salary of $72,956 to $97,656, based on an officer’s education and training — along with a $5,000 signing bonus, according to information on the department’s Web site.

Recruits can also retire with medical benefits and 30 percent of salary after 10 years in the department, according to SFPD spokesman Sgt. Neville Gittens.

Crispin Jones, who travelled 2,500 miles to become a San Francisco police officer, said the monetary benefits were an incentive, though the cash doesn’t go as far as in Athens, Ga., where he worked for nine years.

“The cost of living is a lot different,” he said.

Three other recruits previously served as officers with the University of California police in San Francisco.

Chinn said he is eager to begin his first assignment as a patrolman at Bayview Station.

“When you’re a detective, you’re more concerned with obtaining warrants,” Chinn said. “Patrol is a little more hands-on. You represent the city. It’s a change in pace.”

bbegin@examiner.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

5:51 PM MST on Sat., May. 10, 2008 re: "SFPD�s latest officers may be new, but bring experience"

Examiner Reader said:
In the instance of Iggy Chinn, How is going from a DOJ special agent to a street cop on graveyard a lateral move?

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5:46 PM MST on Tue., May. 6, 2008 re: "City dispatchers call for relief"

Carl said:
"Hoffmann, who took on the deputy director job in August, acknowledged the complaint but doubted its validity. �I�m a little bit frustrated because I have an open door policy,� she said. �It could be a small group of disgruntled employees, but since it�s anonymous, it�s very difficult to respond.� ...Or it could be any number of 911 employees who have real issues with working overtime 60+ hours per week every week without vacations who know full well your open door policy means nothing but trouble for the whistle blowers and who know letting others know without giving their names would be the only solution. No validity? Wake up. Turn over is bad because they can't strike...so you think. They don't need your permission to fix it. Are you prepared if they do strike? Validity? Give me a break.

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6:11 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008 re: "Officers sue for time spent changing"

Examiner Reader said:
We,Sf residents should counter sue all the sf cops to pay bach times they have been spending in donuts coffee shop. 300 millions deficit can be cut in half.

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4:33 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008 re: "Officers sue for time spent changing"

Examiner Reader said:
We just gave these greedy bumbs a 24% increase. No payment for changing clothes!! Let'em all go plain clothes!!

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1:43 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008 re: "Officers sue for time spent changing"

Examiner Reader said:
For those who arrive to work in "dressed"- Police Officers are NOT allowed to come to work "dressed" in thier uniform. By law they are NOT allowed be in full uniform and drive in a civilian vehicle. Another arguement is needed-

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1:21 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008 re: "Officers sue for time spent changing"

Examiner Reader said:
No one pays me to dress for work, my commute time, or for the 15-minute early arrival I opt for almost every workday, or when i sometimes work through lunch - nor do I expect them to do so. This is the kind of action, I believe, which gives government employees a bad rap. As one myself, I don't appreciate it.

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11:39 AM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008 re: "Officers sue for time spent changing"

sfmike said:
The overpaid, extremely lazy, outrageously incompetent San Francisco Police Department now wants back pay for getting dressed? Can't we just fire them all and start over? They've gotten completely out of hand.

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10:16 AM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008 re: "Officers sue for time spent changing"

Examiner Reader said:
You don't mean to tell me that these officers in the law suit don't waste 15 minutes of time while on the clock? Common we all know they do. We all do it in our every day job. I work in a corporate office and certainly make personal calls and emails while on the clock. As to so many around me. I have friends who are SFPD and I know for a fact they run quick errands, get coffee etc while on the clock. Additionally, without knowing protocol, it would seem to me that you arrive to work ready to work. That means in full gear. I don't get dressed in my office I have to be ready when I get to work. This is another example of why the city of SF is over budget.

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11:21 PM MST on Wed., Jan. 23, 2008 re: "City dispatchers call for relief"

Examiner Reader said:
This comment is in regards to how many WPM you have to type. 40 WPM is not too much to ask. Now you say, why is SF stuck on that standard. Here are some examples. If you were to have a hysterical caller screaming in your ear or trying to get important suspect information and you were to type slower than that, will you tell the caller, hold on, I can't type that fast, you need to repeat all of that again. What do you think the caller will do? Probably hang up and you better pray and hope you got a phone number to call them back. If not, then you're at fault for not being able to keep up. If you have an officer in pursuit and he's running and out of breath and is giving you important information, are you going to tell him the same thing too? Stop and speak slower because I can't keep up? I don't think so. So there is a reason behind it all and if you don't type fast enough, invest in the Mavis Beacon game.

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7:53 AM MST on Wed., Jan. 23, 2008 re: "City dispatchers call for relief"

Examiner Reader said:
One problem in getting applicants is that the city dispatchers have to type 40 wpm. San Mateo county dispatchers only need to type 25 wpm. Why is SF stuck on a standard that is not necessary to perform the job?

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1:12 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 22, 2008 re: "City dispatchers call for relief"

Examiner Reader said:
Further regarding long term disability. Landrover is correct, stress definitely plays a part. The body is not made to maintain high levels of stress for long periods of time. In addition to stress, there are repetitive motion injuries. Typing, for instance, may not lead to a pulled tendon after one day. But typing several hours a day every day, year after year may lead to hand and wrist injuries such as carpal tunnel.

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12:32 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 22, 2008 re: "City dispatchers call for relief"

landrover said:
To the reader that commented on long term disability, how about long term stress then? You should go up to the comm center and see what its really like, perhaps you will put in an application after seeing the dedicated servants work 24/7 days a week.

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7:47 PM MST on Mon., Jan. 21, 2008 re: "City dispatchers call for relief"

SF fan said:
911 operators MUST be alert, not fatigued by hours of manditory overtime. They are HIGHLY SKILLED and should get the same salary as a starting policeman. When I need 911 I want a fresh operator, not a tired, fatigued person going into her last hour of a 12 hour day. My LIFE just might DEPEND ON IT.

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6:00 PM MST on Mon., Jan. 21, 2008 re: "City dispatchers call for relief"

Examiner Reader said:
SF Dispatchers do need help, its a job I would not want to do, but I applaud those that want to do it. This is a very stressful environment. If this is true, the dispatchers need to have more time off and better pay. There needs to be looked into since if I have to call 911 I do not want a operator that has worked long hours and does not want to be there. Find a way to recruit more dispatchers like the SFPD by offering a real salary for time served to lure potential candidates. I believe this may help since it gets police and fire applicants to apply for the positions.

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1:09 PM MST on Mon., Jan. 21, 2008 re: "City dispatchers call for relief"

Examiner Reader said:
The simple fact remains; to be successful SF needs to be competitive in salary, working conditions and benefits. SF is arguably the most expensive, most stressful city to work in the bay area, but the overall compensation structure is not competitive with so many other cities in the bay area where the environment is much less chaotic and the cost of living is far less. Why would a dispatcher choose to work in such a stressful environment when they would qualify for other agencies who have open positions and demand far less? This issue is not going to be solved by new management or new tactics but rather new wage increases to attract new talent. As a dispatcher in the bay area, I would love to live/work in SF but I'm not willing to take the 30-45% pay cut that it would entail.

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7:32 AM MST on Mon., Jan. 21, 2008 re: "City dispatchers calling for relief"

Examiner Reader said:
Perhaps the aforementioned commenter should read the article more carefully. The article is about dispatchers not police officers. Pay attention! Perhaps the answer to the problems for the dispatchers is higher pay and a better retirement. The fact that the SF dispatchers are among the lowest paid dispatchers in the state is a reason they cannot attract more qualified candidates. There were never problems of this magnitude when they were under the control of the police department. Perhaps the department should be returned to the police department. It would be better run and the use of light duty officers could be used to fill in for the missing positions.

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2:52 PM MST on Mon., Dec. 3, 2007 re: "New language policy approved for SFPD"

Polisehed415 said:
Why doesn't the department hire more Latino police officers? Also, the department needs to get it's officers to learn to be more polite and less hostile when dealing with the public! I had a terrible experience with an officer after someone hit the rear of my car and then took off! The officer treated me like I caused the accident and was so rude that I ended up complaining about him in a letter and formal complaint. I have noticed that the officers here are VERY hostile and argumentative. The department really needs to improve its public relations with civilians!

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2:38 PM MST on Fri., Nov. 30, 2007 re: "New language policy approved for SFPD"

Examiner Reader said:
Will Ebonics be one of the languages?

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