In fiscal year 1984-1985, the San Francisco Police Department spent at least $55,609 in salaries alone for special events management. Direct staffing costs do not reflect the full expense, however. The time spent planning for a special event is time not spent doing something else. Events management planning sometimes calls for coordination between several public agencies. Planning is not merely reactive. Instead, the police seek a proactive role in establishing ground rules that facilitate crowd control. While planning generally involves opportunity costs at the administrative level, the primary staffing of special events draws most heavily from the lower ranks of sergeant, inspector, and police officer, who also engage in the law enforcement, crime prevention, and revenue-generating activities of policing. San Francisco police administrators are presently considering alternatives to existing methods of special events management, such as requiring special event sponsors to defray police expenses as a condition for receiving a permit and substituting less well-trained, less-costly personnel for police where possible. However, these alternatives are politically controversial and require some debate. 2 tables, 12 notes.