SFPD's GPS Pursuit-Alternative Heads to Full Board With Civil Rights Guardrails

The San Francisco Rules Committee moved quickly through a compact two-item agenda Monday, but the meatier debate centered on whether the police department's use of a GPS dart that attaches to fleeing vehicles has adequate privacy and civil rights protections. The committee also filled a vacancy on a property tax appeals board.

• SFPD's StarChase GPS tracking policy, deployed 17 times in its first year, advances to full Board after Chair Walton presses on data security and immigration enforcement safeguards

• Administrative law judge Elena Rifkin appointed to Assessment Appeals Board #3 with a residency waiver, filling a vacancy on the panel that hears property tax disputes

• Both items passed 3-0 with no public comment on either

The basics: San Francisco's Administrative Code 19B requires city departments to adopt formal surveillance technology policies before deploying certain tools. SFPD brought its policy governing electronic location tracking devices — GPS trackers, radio frequency identification, RF beacons, and the StarChase system — to the Rules Committee for review. StarChase fires a small GPS dart onto a fleeing vehicle, allowing officers to track its location and disengage from a high-speed chase.