San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew has named Nicole Jones to the assistant chief position, the department announced Monday. 

As assistant chief, Jones will take over the chief of staff position and oversee administration, risk management, strategic communications, community engagement, government affairs and policy development, the department said.  

“I am extremely grateful to have Nicole Jones as second-in-command of this department,” Lew said. “Assistant Chief Jones has a wealth of experience and institutional knowledge that will help to support the SFPD and its officers. We have work to do, and I’m confident we have the leadership in place to ensure San Francisco is a safe and thriving city.” 

Jones, who has been with the department for 18 years, fills a job that has been vacant for six months as the department has reorganized its command staff, including the swearing in of Chief Lew earlier this month. 

Before being promoted to assistant chief, Jones served as deputy chief of the administration bureau. 

As an officer, Jones worked patrol at Ingleside and Tenderloin stations before being promoted to sergeant, where she worked at Internal Affairs and the special victims unit. 

As a lieutenant, Jones created the staffing and deployment unit and worked at Northern Station and in the chief’s office. She served as Captain at Ingleside Station before being promoted to commander of the administration bureau. 

Jones also oversaw the planning for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in 2023 and the NBA All Star game in 2025, the department said.  

Jones has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. 

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.