Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Crisis Intervention Team topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Police commission adopts Crisis Intervention Team order, outlines expanded training and data collection
Summary
The San Francisco Police Commission unanimously adopted a departmental general order establishing a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), formalizing 40-hour CIT officer training plus additional tactical hours, station-level liaison officers and new data collection to track outcomes and use of the program.
The San Francisco Police Commission adopted a departmental general order Tuesday that formally establishes a citywide Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program and lays out training, team structure and data collection for officers who respond to mental-health crises.
Commissioners heard a multi-part presentation from Samara Marion, Lieutenant Molina and other working-group members that described the DGO as the product of 18 months of collaboration among city departments, public defenders, mental‑health advocates and families affected by critical incidents. Marion told the commission the order reflects the department’s use‑of‑force policy and emphasizes sanctity of life, de‑escalation and rapport building.
The new DGO defines a CIT officer as a patrol officer who completes 40 hours of specialized training plus 10 hours of tactical field practice; Lieutenant Molina said the department will add field practice training next year and realign watches so trained officers and their supervisors work overlapping schedules to allow team deployment.
Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Johnson, chair of the curriculum subcommittee, described the training development: the working group compared curricula from Miami‑Dade, Memphis and other jurisdictions, solicited expert review from neuropsychiatrists, and adjusted the content to balance interactive exercises with didactic material. Jessica Lobanand of NAMI San Francisco summarized pre‑ and post‑training survey results showing increases in officers’ preparedness to de‑escalate suicidal individuals and reduced stigma toward people with mental illness.
Speakers from community groups and family members who have lost loved ones in crisis urged continued funding, stronger follow‑up services and permanent, non‑hospital intake options. Vinnie Eng and others asked the commission to secure sustained budgets and honorariums for trainers; Lieutenant Molina said a budget approved in July covers instructor pay and the department is pursuing additional partnerships with the Department of Public Health for embedded clinicians.
After public comment, commissioners voted to adopt the CIT departmental general order. The commission recorded appreciation for the working group, the many volunteer trainers who contributed, and for steps to institutionalize CIT liaison officers at stations and improve data collection.
The commission’s action directs the police department to proceed with the scheduled training rollout and to integrate a CIT contact icon into officers’ dispatch technology to standardize data capture and follow‑up. No additional formal amendments to the order were made at the meeting. The commission will receive reports as implementation proceeds.
