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Oversight office reports staffing strain, low sustain rate and outreach efforts
Summary
The Office of Citizen Complaints told commissioners it opened 664 complaints by Q3 2010, closed 648, and ended the quarter with 397 pending; director said staffing and budget limits constrain online filing and forensic capacity, drawing sharp public criticism about sustain rates and transparency.
Director Hicks presented the OCC’s third‑quarter 2010 statistical and outreach report to the Police Commission on Nov. 10, saying the office opened 664 complaints through the third quarter, closed 648, and reported 397 pending cases as of Sept. 30.
"We did show some slippage during the third quarter in the time that it took to close cases," Director Hicks said, noting that 77 percent of cases were resolved within nine months compared with 85 percent the prior year. She said the OCC finished the quarter with 397 pending cases and had sustained about 7 percent of cases it closed in that period.
Hicks told the commission OCC staffing had fallen to 13 journey‑level investigators from a high of 17, below the charter’s minimum staffing level (15 investigators under Charter Section 4.127) because of retirements, resignations and unfunded positions. The OCC plans outreach and noted limitations on adding online complaint filing because of budget and IT constraints.
Public commenter Ray Hartz (San Francisco Open Government) sharply criticized the oversight system’s outcomes and process, noting the low percentage of sustained findings and arguing that the statistics risk undermining public confidence. "I have a hard time believing that this city is just full of hundreds of citizens who...file a complaint, and none of them are valid," Hartz said, and questioned whether activity was being mistaken for accomplishment.
Director Hicks responded that the OCC is continuing outreach, mediation and policy recommendations, and that the office has improved partnerships with the police department on policy work such as juvenile policing, language access and mental‑health crisis response.
The commission did not vote on OCC staffing or budget requests during the meeting but directed staff to continue providing quarterly reports on new policies and implementation progress.
