Police Commission tables DGO 5.20 language-access rewrite after community objections

The San Francisco Police Commission voted unanimously on Feb. 5, 2026 to table proposed revisions to Department General Order 5.20, the SFPD language-access policy, after extensive public testimony from immigrant‑serving organizations and sustained questioning from commissioners.

President Clay, presiding over the meeting, framed the issue as one of trust in the policy process: “A system without trust is no system at all,” he said, arguing the commission must ensure community participants see their input reflected in the final policy.

The draft before the commission would have updated DGO 5.20 to align reporting with San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 91, expand periodic training to all public‑facing employees and permit certain temporary interpreters in exigent, non‑criminal circumstances. SFPD policy manager Aja Steves walked commissioners through two specific proposed wording edits — replacing “primary or preferred language” with “primary language” for Miranda admonitions and changing an “or” to an “if” in the exigent‑circumstances provision —…