Locunity/San Francisco, CA·Police Commission
Sets policy for the Police Department and provides civilian oversight of policing.
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Recent updates from Governing Board
The Commission unanimously approved a revised DGO 11.12 that extends temporary modified duty eligibility to non-sworn employees and allows assignments at district stations.
Why it matters: The policy revision, first update since 2004, responds to 12 public comments and expands protections for injured or accommodated employees across the department.
Assistant Chief confirmed language identification pins are not a budget issue and SFPD is identifying officers at district stations to wear them.
Why it matters: The pins, inspired by community advocate Marlene's idea, would help non-English speakers identify officers who speak their language; the Sheriff's Office has already begun rolling them out.
Chief Lew said he is amenable to a future town hall on Trans March policing but will delay until criminal cases adjudicate, while DPA continues its investigation.
Why it matters: The Trans March incident has become a recurring flashpoint, with community members returning weekly to demand answers and multiple commissioners pushing for accessible engagement formats beyond a formal town hall.
Chief Lew reported broad crime declines across every major category, with auto burglaries down 40% and robberies down 20%, though homicides are up from 13 to 16.
Why it matters: Sustained double-digit crime reductions support department strategy claims, but the uptick in homicides from 13 to 16 year-over-year remains a concern.
Commissioner Benedicto revealed an upcoming DPA audit of Flock ALPR use and pressed the Chief on whether LAPD's decision to drop Flock is influencing SFPD's evaluation.
Why it matters: Two data breaches, LAPD's contract non-renewal, and a pending DPA audit could force a fundamental reassessment of SFPD's Flock automated license plate reader program.
The Police Officers Association and an attorney called on the Commission to direct the department to provide a Loudermill hearing to a dismissed recruit they say was denied due process.
Why it matters: The case invokes the landmark Loudermill decision on public employee due process, and the POA's unusual general public comment appearance signals the seriousness of the dispute.
A nine-year crisis responder told the Commission that the Fire Department's planned removal of peer counselors from the Street Crisis Response Team will directly impact police officers' ability to de-escalate behavioral health crises.
Why it matters: The change to the 911 first response system could shift behavioral health burden back to police at a time when the department faces staffing challenges.
SFPD honored its drone unit for transformative policing results while the Chief acknowledged a Wired magazine exposé revealing publicly accessible drone footage links.
Why it matters: The Phoenix drone program is central to SFPD's crime-fighting strategy, but a security vulnerability and community surveillance complaints threaten public trust and could invite regulatory action.
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SFPD Drone Program Hailed for 600 Arrests, Then Hit With Security Breach The San Francisco Police Commission's July 15 meeting opened with celebration of its drone program — and pivoted quickly to damage control after a...
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Trans Community Demands Accountability After Pride Weekend Arrests The San Francisco Police Commission's first meeting since Pride Weekend became a reckoning. Over a dozen community members delivered impassioned testimo...
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SFPD Catches 299 Unauthorized Federal Queries of License Plate Data The San Francisco Police Commission's June 17 meeting opened with a bombshell: an internal SFPD audit uncovered nearly 300 unauthorized searches of the...
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Commission Overhauls SFPD Policymaking Rules After Two-Hour Debate The San Francisco Police Commission advanced two major policy rewrites Wednesday — one modernizing how officers interact with Deaf and Hard of Hearing r...
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Homicides up 70% as Overall Crime Falls, City Cites Technology as Deterrent The San Francisco Police Commission's June 3 meeting laid bare a troubling paradox at the heart of the city's public safety strategy: technolog...
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Crime Plunges 27%, but Homicides Triple as Mothers Plead for Victim Liaison's Return The San Francisco Police Commission's April 8 meeting laid bare a central tension in the city's public safety story: overall crime is...
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Commission Advances Language-Access Overhaul 5-1 as Community Groups Plead for More Time The San Francisco Police Commission on April 1 pushed a sweeping rewrite of its language-access policy toward labor negotiations d...
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Crime Plummets 32% but Homicides Triple, Alarming SF Police Commission The San Francisco Police Commission on March 18 confronted a paradox at the heart of the city's public safety picture: nearly every major crime cate...
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Homicides Increase as San Francisco Loses Violence Intervention Funding The San Francisco Police Commission confronted a stark contradiction: overall crime is plummeting, but people are dying at an alarming rate. Nine h...
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Crime Plummets 34% but Homicide Spike Alarms SF Police Commission The San Francisco Police Commission heard a tale of two trends Feb. 18: historic, across-the-board drops in violent and property crime set against a trou...
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Commission Backs $755M SFPD Budget as Crime Drops and Policy Reforms Advance San Francisco's Police Commission met Feb. 11 for a wide-ranging session that moved from celebration to grief to fiscal strategy — a single ev...
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Police Commission Tables Language Access Policy After Immigrant Community Outcry The San Francisco Police Commission hit pause on a controversial policy rewrite last Wednesday, unanimously siding with a broad coalition...
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