SFPD PRESS RELEASE
November 15, 2016
16-162
Yesterday, Interim Chief Toney Chaplin and SFPD command staff joined Mayor Edwin Lee, SF Board of Supervisors and community leaders to reaffirm the City’s commitment to the values of San Francisco at a Unity Gathering at City Hall.
The gathering was an important signal to the nation that San Francisco’s values will not waver. This includes the commitment made by Mayor Lee, the San Francisco Police Commission and Interim Chief Chaplin and the SFPD to reform our police department, implement the recommendations of the Collaborative Reform initiative assessment made by the United States Department of Justice and rebuild the trust between law enforcement and communities.
“The San Francisco Police Department is unwavering in our commitment to real collaborative reform,” said Acting Chief Toney Chaplin. “We will continue to implement the recommendations for reform which will be built on the most current policing policies and practices, fostering an environment of trust and strong relationships with our communities.”
“Now more than ever, San Francisco must demonstrate how communities can work together to make change,” said Police Commission President Suzy Loftus. “It’s time to join together and advance the important reforms that will make our streets safer for community members and police officers alike.”
November 12, 2016 marked 30-days since the United Stated Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) released its Collaborative Reform Initiative (CRI) assessment of the San Francisco Police Department.
Since the report’s release 30 days ago the Police Department, Police Commission and other stakeholders have worked together to move forward with the implementation of the comprehensive reports recommendations.
The following steps have been made in the last 30 days:
– Review and integrate the complete body of reports, mapping all 479 recommendations to a matrix for organizational purposes
– Develop a framework and structure to review and drive Collaborative Reform efforts
– Establish the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) at the Department of Public Health (DPH) and ensure close coordination with the Mental Health Working Group. A Department General Order (DGO) covering the Crisis Intervention Team is in process for approval with the Police Commission and relevant stakeholders
– Design DGOs and Department Bulletins (DBs) especially related to use of Social Media, Demographic Data Collection and interaction with individuals working with the OCC
– Deploy Body Worn Cameras (BWCs) to a majority of the Patrol Bureau, and implement new policies around Body Worn Cameras
– Continue to implement anti-bias training internally, via the “Managing Implicit Bias & Procedural Justice” coursework
- Command Staff & Supervisors scheduled for December
- Line supervisors are scheduled for “Managing Implicit Bias & Procedural Justice” in December & January
- This Procedural Justice is now integrated into recruit training. Implicit Bias is being integrated currently
- Line Officers will be scheduled starting in January 2017 as part of the annual training cycle
- Continue to emphasize de-escalation practices in all policies and directives through training and accountability by the re-engineering of the use of force training doctrine within the Department
This reform work started in 2015 with the community process to design Body Worn Camera policy, and was further advanced by the COPS report and other reports to catalyze growth and transformation. As the COPS report notes, “The COPS Office found a department that is committed to making changes and working with the community.” (DOJ COPS Report; Executive Summary).
In the coming weeks, SFPD will introduce a series of community outreach opportunities, starting with the Community Input Session organized by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and Collective Impact and co-sponsored by the SFPD, Police Commission, the Office of Citizens Complaints and the Mayor’s Office of Violence Prevention and Public Safety.
“San Francisco is a rich, unique and diverse city deserving of a modern, compassionate, innovative and unbiased police department and we stand by our promise to continually deliver professional service and always look for ways to improve,” said Reverend Amos Brown.
SFPD will continue to engage community groups to help revise protocols and shape new policies related to Use of Force, Bias, Community Policing and Accountability.
The Police Commission and SFPD remain wholly committed to collaborative reform and dedicated to creating a department that is at the forefront of professional, community based policing practices, and serves an example for the rest of the nation to follow.
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