Latest news with #ChrisLarsen
CBS News
10 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Billionaire Chris Larsen's $9.4 million donation to fund new SFPD investigation center
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Thursday a $9.4 million donation from a crypto billionaire to upgrade the police department's surveillance technology, including a new Real-Time Investigation Center (RTIC). According to the mayor's office, the donation comes from Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple. With the money, the center will move from its current location at the Hall of Justice to a vacant office in the Financial District. "It gives the team room to grow and ensures they're fully operational in a crisis. And it puts them right in the heart of downtown, where they can best serve every neighborhood across San Francisco," Lurie said at a press briefing Thursday morning. Larsen said in a statement, "We are proud to help usher in a new era of accountability with the launch of an enhanced Real-Time Investigation Center for SFPD and law enforcement partners that matches San Francisco's reputation as the innovation capital of the world." Also known as RTIC, the center brings together live data from drones, surveillance cameras and automated license plate readers, providing first responders with real-time information. Lurie said the center has helped with more than 500 arrests and prevented numerous police pursuits since its launch in March 2024, including 32 arrests in the past week. "This is the beginning of a new era of policing in San Francisco," said police chief Bill Scott, who is soon leaving the department to lead the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority police. "Our hard-working officers can continue to drive crime down by identifying and arresting offenders as quickly as possible."
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘A new era': Crypto billionaire's $9.4M gift funding new SFPD surveillance hub
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie thanked a local tech billionaire on Thursday for funding a new downtown headquarters for the San Francisco Police Department's Real-Time Investigation Center (RTIC). The center houses technological resources that assist police officers in the field in real-time, such as drones, automated license plate readers and public safety cameras. The $9.4 million in funding for the new RTIC space was donated by San Francisco-based enterprise blockchain company Ripple, city officials said. The company's cofounder and CEO, Chris Larsen, said the enhanced center will 'help usher in a new era of accountability.' The current location is inside the Hall of Justice and operates with 'outdated wiring and other infrastructure challenges,' according to the mayor's office. The new location is said to feature updated equipment and other enhancements donated by the San Francisco Police Community Foundation and Crankstart. '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 streets safe,' Lurie said in a news release Thursday. 'I want to thank Chris Larsen for his continued dedication to our police officers and the safety of all San Franciscans.' The center contributed to more than 500 arrests in 2024, according to the mayor's office. Outgoing Police Chief Bill Scott shared similar sentiments as Larsen, calling the upgraded headquarters 'the beginning of a new era of policing in San Francisco.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Crypto billionaire offers $10M gift to revolutionize policing in crime-ridden major city
A San Francisco billionaire is offering a $10 million gift to the city to create a state-of-the-art police technology hub as he pleads with officials to clean up the streets. Chris Larsen, the co-founder of cryptocurrency platform Ripple, has requested San Francisco officials to approve his huge gift to enhance the city's policing. Larsen's funds would relocate San Francisco's Real-Time Investigations Center, the police's hub for overseeing tech including license plate readers, surveillance cameras and drones, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The entrepreneur, who has a net worth over $8 billion, is hoping to move the center from the SoMa Hall of Justice to the Financial District, into a building that he owns. The potential new HQ, located at his building 315 Montgomery Street, would be sub-leased to the police for free from Ripple, which owns a $2.3 million lease on the property through December 2026 but no longer uses it. Larsen is known for his funding of public safety initiatives, and beyond the free lease he is offering $7.25 million from his policing charitable organization, the San Francisco Police Community Foundation. In an interview with the Chronicle, Larsen said the crimewave that upended San Francisco in recent years has started slowing thanks to advancements in police tech that he hopes will continue. 'I think we can clearly see what a force-multiplier this is,' he said. 'The number of tools that they have is quite small, and we know that (expanding them) will have an impact.' The streets of San Francisco became synonymous with crime, homelessness and open-air drug taking in recent years, fueled by soft-on-crime policies from officials The streets of San Francisco became synonymous with crime, homelessness and open-air drug taking in recent years, fueled by soft-on-crime policies from officials such as former San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin. Boudin was recalled in 2022 as residents fumed over a lack of safety in the city, however crime in San Francisco has steadily dropped in recent times as it rebounds from the pandemic. Officials said investigative work done through the Real-Time Investigations Center helped assist over 500 arrests in 2024 and drove a 40 percent drop in auto thefts over a one-year period. Evan Sernoffsky, a spokesperson for the police department, said cops in the city are hoping Larsen's proposal is accepted, adding that his multi-million-dollar gift would 'supercharge' the unit. Commissioners within the San Francisco Police Department are set to discuss Larsen's funding proposal on Wednesday, and if it is accepted the proposal would move to the Board of Supervisors to finalize the deal. 'We cobbled together our current (Real-Time Investigations Center) with everything we basically had lying around,' Sernoffsky continued. 'Little did we know how effective it would become with just the tools at our disposal.' Larsen's funds would relocate San Francisco's Real-Time Investigations Center, the police's hub for overseeing tech including license plate readers, surveillance cameras and drones San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, the heir to the Levi Strauss denim fortune, was elected last year on a platform aimed at cleaning up the drug-infested streets. He defeated London Breed in the election as voters rebelled against her lenient policing policies, and Lurie said in a statement this week that the tech investigations center has become one of the most important assets to his police department. Lurie said it supports a severely understaffed department, and 'with this new facility, the SFPD will have the tools and the technology it needs to take this work to the next level.' 'I want to thank Chris Larsen for his continued dedication to our police officers and the safety of all San Franciscans,' the mayor said. Supporters of the proposal also say that the change of venue is desperately needed, with an ordinance proposal cited by the Chronicle noting that 'in its current location, the RTIC has experienced power and internet outages, and plumbing leaks from the ceiling.' 'The RTIC is in a windowless room in a concrete structure, which limits cell phone and emergency radio transmission capabilities,' the document stated. Larsen has become known in the city for funding such public safety projects, including gifting $1 million to his police charity to help officer wellness and financing surveillance cameras across the city.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Crypto billionaire offers $9.4 million to overhaul S.F. police tech hub
A crypto billionaire with a reputation for funding public safety projects San Francisco is asking officials to greenlight a $9.4 million gift to create a new, state-of-the-art technology hub for the city's police force. The donation, which is made up of funds linked to Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, would relocate San Francisco police's Real-Time Investigations Center, which oversees its work with drones, surveillance cameras and automated license plate readers, from the SoMa Hall of Justice to an office at 315 Montgomery St. in the Financial District. If approved, the Police Department would sublet the Montgomery Street location for free from Ripple, which paid $2.3 million for the lease through December 2026 but is no longer using the space, according to a proposal ordinance. The other $7.25 million would come from the San Francisco Police Community Foundation, a charitable organization Larsen set up last year to support local police and crime-fighting initiatives. Police commissioners are scheduled to discuss the funding proposal Wednesday at their weekly meeting. If they agree to accept the money, the decision would fall on the Board of Supervisors for a final approval. In a Monday interview, Larsen credited last year's tech advancements with helping a chronically short staffed police force drive down crime rates and keep themselves safe. 'I think we can clearly see what a force-multiplier this is,' he said, noting the city's historically low rates of crime over the last year. 'The number of tools that they have is quite small, and we know that (expanding them) will have an impact.' Evan Sernoffsky, a spokesperson for the police department, said the gift would 'supercharge' a unit that in 2024 assisted in over 500 arrests and helped drive a 40% drop in auto thefts over a one-year period. 'We cobbled together our current (Real Time Investigations Center) with everything we basically had lying around,' Sernoffsky said. 'Little did we know how effective it would become with just the tools at our disposal.' In a statement, Mayor Daniel Lurie credited the center for supporting an understaffed department and helping to keep neighborhoods safe. 'With this new facility, the SFPD will have the tools and the technology it needs to take this work to the next level,' Lurie said. 'I want to thank Chris Larsen for his continued dedication to our police officers and the safety of all San Franciscans.' Both police and other city officials have for months bemoaned deficiencies in housing the department's technological epicenter the Hall of Justice, a crumbling building constructed in 1958 that relies on 1960s-era wiring. 'In its current location, the RTIC has experienced power and internet outages, and plumbing leaks from the ceiling,' the proposal ordinance stated. 'The RTIC is in a windowless room in a concrete structure, which limits cell phone and emergency radio transmission capabilities.' During a recent press conference at the RTIC's Hall of Justice location, police asked reporters to refrain from charging their equipment in the room's electrical outlets because doing so risked overwhelming the system. Last year touched off a technological revolution for city police following the passage of Prop. E, an assortment of measures that increased police powers and loosened the amount of oversight surrounding their surveillance technology. A wave of new equipment was introduced in short order. It included a fleet of officer-piloted drones, hundreds of new automated license plate readers and towering mobile security cameras stationed in crime hotspots. Many San Franciscans have embraced the advancements as an overdue response to its stubbornly high rate of car break-ins and other property crimes. But the tools remain deeply unpopular with privacy advocates who fear that they're vulnerable to abuses. The proposed windfall would both relocate the RTIC and expand it; with funds earmarked for purchases included a dozen additional drones and related software, a new video wall and the installation of fiber internet services.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SEC, Ripple file surprise joint motion to pause appeal
The long-running legal battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs has taken a significant turn, with both sides filing a joint motion to hold the ongoing appeal and cross-appeal in abeyance. The pause signals that a potential settlement may be imminent, pending approval by the SEC. According to the April 10 court filings submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the parties have 'reached an agreement-in-principle, subject to Commission approval, to resolve the underlying case.' This agreement includes the SEC's appeal, Ripple's cross-appeal, and claims involving executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The filing notes that the stay would conserve judicial and party resources while the Commission considers the settlement terms. If approved, the SEC may then seek an indicative ruling from the district court. A status report is expected to be filed within 60 days of the court's stay order. The SEC initially filed its notice of appeal on October 3, 2024, following the district court's final judgment. Ripple responded with a cross-appeal on October 10. The Commission submitted its opening brief in January 2025, and the court had scheduled April 16 as the deadline for Ripple and the executives to respond — a deadline now suspended due to the stay. Notably, attorney James K. Filan, who has closely followed the case, tweeted: 'The parties have filed a joint motion to hold the appeal in abeyance based on the parties' agreement to settle. The settlement is awaiting Commission approval. No brief will be filed on April 16th.' This development marks the most substantial progress toward resolution since the SEC first filed suit against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that XRP was an unregistered security. A settlement, if finalized, could have major implications not just for Ripple, but for the broader regulatory landscape of digital assets in the United States. On March 25, Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reached a landmark agreement to end their four-year legal battle. Ripple will pay $50 million of the original $125 million penalty, with the remainder refunded from escrow, according to Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty. On April 8, the SEC urged Judge Analisa Torres to reject a filing in the Ripple case. The submission came from Justin W. Keener, seeking to present new evidence. The SEC called it 'improper, unnecessary,' and outside the court's authority while the appeal is active.
