The San Francisco Police Department is committed to providing the resources, training, policies, protocols, and systems necessary to identify and eliminate biased behavior that negatively impacts our encounters with the public. By providing safety with respect for all, we strive to uphold the values of our city and build stronger bonds with the communities we serve.
By sharing the below information, we hope to provide transparency to the public about our policies and procedures relating to bias. We want to show the public that there is a framework of accountability within the department to ensure any incidents of bias are addressed expeditiously. It is also important that the public be informed of its options for reporting police misconduct and the results of the disciplinary process for officers who are found to have acted inappropriately.
The information below is only the beginning of the discussion. If you have further questions or issues you would like to discuss, please contact your district station captain (contact information provided below). For a greater understanding of our policies and procedures, please explore our webpage.
Information for Discussion:
- There are two Department General Orders (DGOs) regarding how to file a complaint against sworn and non-sworn members of the SFPD ( DGO 2.04 Citizen Complaints against Officers, DGO 2.05 Citizen Complaints against Non-Sworn Members). If you would like to file a complaint and have a question about to do so after reviewing the text of the DGOs, please contact any district station, where personnel will be happy to walk you through the process.
- If you would like to commend a police officer for exemplary work, follow the hyperlink and choose the option that best suits your taste.
- If you would like to file a complaint about a police officer with the Department of Police Accountability (DPA), please follow the link and use the method that is easiest for you.
- The above link regarding filing a complaint also provides you with links to DGO 2.01 General Rules of Conduct, DGO 2.04 Citizen Complaints against Officers, DGO 2.05 Citizen Complaints against Non-Sworn Members, and DGO 2.07 Discipline Process for Sworn Officers if you would like to reference those resources before or after you make a complaint.
- The DPA maintains monthly statistical reports, quarterly, and annual reports on its cases and their outcomes. The information is available on its website.
- If you are interested in reviewing the results of quarterly Disciplinary Review Board reports as presented to the Police Commission, the information is available on the Police Commission website.
- On 08/21/2020 the SFPD re-affirmed its commitment to serve the community of San Francisco without bias by updating DGO 5.17 Bias-Free Policing Policy. The SFPD is dedicated to guaranteeing that every person is afforded equal protection under the law. The SFPD’s policy is one of the first to incorporate training on “bias by proxy,” and explains the best practices to ensure that bias does not affect how its members interact with the community. To see more about the strategies to eliminate bias within the SFPD, please explore our Bias-Free Policing webpage.
- The Media Relations Unit posts links on Facebook and Twitter quarterly to remind everyone of our whistleblower
- The SFPD is committed to serving the youth in our community, and has created a “Youth Know Your Rights” brochure to explain how it has updated its policies regarding interacting with juveniles. The forms are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, and Tagalog. Further information about the SFPD’s policies regarding juveniles may be found in DGO 7.01 Policies and Procedures for Juveniles: Detention, Arrest, and Custody.
- Commonly searched for reports:
- Officer-involved shootings (OIS) are complex incidents that are investigated by several different agencies. Prior to May 4, 2019, officer-involved shootings were investigated by the SFPD Homicide Detail, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, and the SFPD Internal Affairs Division. After that date, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office – Independent Investigations Bureau (IIB) replaced the SFPD Homicide Detail as the lead in OIS investigations while the SFPD Investigative Services Detail (ISD) is responsible for examining any ancillary crimes associated with the OIS and assisting the IIB as necessary.
- The SFPD is committed to transparency in the wake of an OIS, which is why the Media Relations Unit has an established a protocol for response after an OIS. Media Relations also publishes links on SFPD social media accounts to quarterly updates on OIS investigations.
- The SFPD publishes historical data on past OIS