Police Commission presses department on language-access implementation under DGO 5.2

The San Francisco Police Commission on Dec. 7 heard a detailed update on the San Francisco Police Department’s efforts to implement Department General Order 5.2, the city’s language-access policy, and recommendations from the Office of Citizen Complaints and community groups.

Henry, the department’s language-access officer, told the commission that “as of November 2011 the San Francisco Police Department has a total of 2,627 members,” and that about 467 members are bilingual, with 163 certified for the five core foreign languages identified by the city. He presented department data showing officers encounter limited-English-proficient (LEP) speakers roughly 50 times a day across SFPD and explained the department’s current mix of local bilingual officers, civilian interpreters and commercial telephonic services.

Amara Mary, a policy…