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Police commission hears community-policing recommendations and SFPD outreach plans
Summary
At a neighborhood meeting July 30, 2008, the San Francisco Police Commission reviewed recommendations from a mayor-appointed Community Policing Advisory Committee and heard department updates on foot beats, youth academies, language access and housing authority coordination.
The San Francisco Police Commission on July 30 reviewed recommendations from a mayor-appointed Community Policing Advisory Committee and heard SFPD plans to expand neighborhood-focused policing and outreach.
The executive summary presented to the commission said the department’s field-operations commander will continue to oversee a community-policing strategic plan and that a lieutenant has been designated as the city’s director of community policing. The presentation noted revised foot-beat guidance that would permit district captains to assign probationary officers to beats under a multi-year commitment.
"The assignment of district station captains are based upon several criteria, which include but not limited to community satisfaction and performance," the presenter said while summarizing the executive summary of recommendations.
Why it matters: Commissioners emphasized that the community must remain involved in annual updates to the plan and asked how the department would sustain neighborhood relationships when captains rotate. Department staff responded that rotations are intended to build agency-wide capacity and that the Police Executive Research Forum is reviewing rotation policies nationally.
The advisory summary also highlighted youth and recruitment programs, including a 10-week community police academy for youth and adults and PAL cadet outreach. "It is a curriculum at the academy where members of the public who have an interest in the department basically come and sit through various courses similar to what our recruits actually are exposed to," the presenter said.
The department described a housing-authority liaison and a memorandum of understanding that assigns officers to large developments, and it said it is adopting a language-access policy enacted in October 2007. The report noted 458 officers qualified as bilingual and listed 36 languages spoken within the department.
Commissioners praised some recommendations but pressed for more detail and clearer community participation in annual plan updates. One commissioner said the executive summary understates the full report’s responsiveness to community concerns; department staff said they would work with the Community Police Advisory Committee to bring community recommendations into policy.
The meeting was held in a town-hall format at Taraval Station so residents could ask questions and provide feedback in the neighborhood where the policies are implemented. The commission said it will continue to vet draft studies and policy changes in public meetings this fall.
Next steps: The department plans follow-up briefings to commissioners and further meetings with the advisory committee to detail how recommendations will be implemented.
