Commission hears community, police and OCC on new juvenile-interaction policy and plans for youth outreach

The Police Commission spent part of its meeting on implementation of Department General Order 7.01, which governs SFPD interactions with juveniles. Community attorneys, OCC staff and juvenile-unit commanders described work under way to translate the policy into practice and to address practical constraints raised by officers at district stations.

Angela Chan of the Asian Law Caucus said community groups have been working with captains to identify implementation issues and are developing a youth "Know Your Rights" guide and proposed training video for officers. Captain John Ehrlich, who took command of Juvenile in January, told the commission SFPD has delivered DGO instruction to academy classes and continuing training and is preparing roll-call videos and a juvenile-contact form that officers can use as an implementation aid. He said the department will meet regularly with partners to address facility space and process problems and to refine procedures for contacting juvenile probation where appropriate.

Community groups asked that materials be translated and linked to language-access protocols and that outreach include elders and families in affected neighborhoods. Commissioners asked that OCC and SFPD produce a clear timeline for implementing training, facility fixes and youth outreach so the commission can monitor progress.