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OCC director outlines complaint process and 2015 findings at Police Commission meeting
Summary
Joyce Hicks, director of San Franciscos Office of Citizen Complaints, reviewed OCC duties, investigative timelines and mediation options and cited preliminary 2015 figures: 673 complaints received and 57 sustained findings.
Joyce Hicks, director of the Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC), briefed the Police Commission at the Richmond Station community meeting on the OCCs role in civilian oversight, how complaints are investigated, and recent statistics.
Hicks said the OCC is the third-largest civilian oversight body in the United States and was established by a San Francisco Board of Supervisors-sponsored charter amendment adopted by voters in 1982. "I am Joyce Hicks, the director of the Office of Citizen Complaints," she said, and described the OCCs investigative process: intake, interviewing complainants, interviewing involved officers and witnesses, site visits and, when necessary, subpoena power.
Hicks summarized OCC staffing and performance targets: 39 budgeted positions (34 filled), about 19 investigators, and a goal to complete investigations within nine months — with a statutory maximum of one year under the Public Safety Officers' Bill of Rights. She reported preliminary 2015 statistics: "we received 673 complaints and we found neglect of duty or misconduct in 57 of them," which Hicks said equates to sustained findings in roughly 9% of closed complaints in that year.
Hicks also described OCC outreach, mediation offerings (45 mediations in 2015), multilingual intake capacity, office location at 25 Van Ness, and ways to file complaints online, by phone, mail or in person. She said the OCC prepares an annual outreach strategic plan focused on communities of color and groups less likely to use police services.
Why it matters: The OCC is the primary civilian body that investigates misconduct allegations against San Francisco police officers and makes findings that can prompt discipline or commission review. Hicks noted confidentiality limits on disclosure imposed by state law and the Public Safety Officers' Bill of Rights.
Whats next: Hicks said the OCC was preparing its annual report and encouraged residents to use available filing options and mediation when appropriate.
