Thread by @jwaggo

TONIGHT 5:30pm: I am observing the #SanFrancisco #Police Commission for @lwvsf on this thread. 📢Big Change to the agenda: PUBLIC COMMENT will now open the meeting! How to join: sfgov.org/policecommissi…

The meeting hasn’t started yet, but it looks like all are present in Webex: President @MaliaCohen, VP Cindy Elias, @DJYBG, @HamasakiLaw, Petra Dejesus. Also present are @SFPDChief Scott & @SF_DPA Department of Police Accountability Executive Director @PaulHendersonSF.

While we’re waiting, here’s the agenda: sfgov.org/policecommissi… and the supporting documents: sfgov.org/policecommissi….

Ok. We’re getting started! Topics include: weekly #crime trends, major incidents, @DPA activities, @SFYouthCom Omnibus Budget Priorities, #SB1421, Street Crisis Response Team, #budget process 2022-23, Collaborative #Reform Initiatives, Outer Vest Carrier, Domestic Violence policy

PUBLIC COMMENT: 415-655-0001 Access Code 146-768-4167. First comment: #SB1421 compliance improving but implementation advice specifics are given during the call.

PUBLIC COMMENT: Ms. Brown thanks C. dejesus, asks about the placement of the 30 day correspondence related to her son (sfgov.org/policecommissi…), asks for more letters from Chief, Homicide, etc.

President Cohen: opens by honoring Chief Earl Sanders, the first black SFPD chief, died at 83 sfchronicle.com/bayarea/articl…. Chief Scott expresses thanks & gratitude. C. Dejesus says he was remarkable, founded Officers for Justice. Brookter also acknowledges his legacy.

Item 2: Chief’s report. Starting with crime trends. <PERSONAL NOTE I am thrilled finally the public also is getting the documentation!!!! YAY!!!!> Here is the crime report: sfgov.org/policecommissi…

Here’s a complicated chart from the PDF in the previous tweet. Essentially, it highlights that year-to-year overall violent crime is down 16% although assault is up 26%. Property crime overall is down 46% but burglary is up dramatically 38%, arson up 20% (larceny theft down 68%).

40 protestors showed up at @Twitter but @SFPD was prepared. There were no significant issues. They’re preparing for the inauguration, encouraging the public to celebrate a VP from the Bay Area but please adhere to the public health orders: stay home, don’t gather in large groups.

President Cohen: #CarBurglaries seem volatile. How do we stop them? I want analysis, not just trends. Chief: 2017 research significant changed strategy: plainclothes surveillance (catching car burglars in the act). Deterrence is essential. Footbeat reviewed by @CAPolicyLab.

Chief: @CAPolicyLab research found larceny (includes car break-ins) down w/higher deployment.“Park Smart” crime prevention public education isn’t about blaming victims, but making sure people aren’t targets. Steady decrease since 2017: redeployment & public education are why.

President Cohen: how are we preparing for MLK & inauguration terrorism or protests? 1) Any signs of trouble? 2) Did SFPD officers participate in DC? Chief: SFPD officers didn’t participate to his knowledge. No indication of plans in San Francisco but monitoring online.

Chief continues: Officers and deputies are prepared. Information sharing locally, regionally, state, national is key & going well.

President Cohen: please inform the @SFPDCommission if the FBI reaches out to you (Chief) or DPA about officers involved in DC #insurrection? Chief: that was illegal activity, so we’d be investigating & you have my word I’d inform you. Henderson: definitely would inform you.

@HamasakiLaw asks about break-ins. Comparable to other cities? If your car hasn’t been broken into, you’re lucky! @SFPDChief confirms San Francisco’s crime is comparable to other cities, better than some.

@HamasakiLaw asks to check who had time off on Tuesday & Wednesday. Run it by the city attorney or DHR. Want public confidence that this wouldn’t be tolerated. @SFPDChief having Internal Affairs question everyone with a day off in isn’t reasonable. Electronic audits pick up bias.

@HamasakiLaw we’re ensuring staff don’t hold racist beliefs. We’ve had scandals in San Francisco with white supremacist language & bias. I’ve seen other cities doing similar things. Why was Mission Station following a far right CO congressperson?

C. Elias: we don’t want to wait for the FBI to come forward with findings. We want to take a proactive approach to ensure SFPD members were not part of domestic terrorism. DPA only has certain remedies, whereas the department is in a better legal position.

Next Item under 2: @SF_DPA report. <RANT I don’t see this report with the supplemental materials. Are these posted somewhere else? The data is read so fast that I can’t keep up, and can’t compare data week to week or over longer time frames. #Transparency #Accountability>

Thank you @SFPDCommission President @MaliaCohen for asking @SF_DPA @PaulHendersonSF about ensuring all reports are available to the public in advance! #Sunshine #Transparency #Accountability

Next under Item 2: @SFYouthCom Omnibus Budget Priorities. Presentation: sfgov.org/policecommissi…. Recommendations: sfgov.org/policecommissi… #Youth #PublicSafety #Budget #SanFrancisco

Majority of recommendations tonight for #PublicSafety are from the Transformative Justice Committee. Austin Truong ipresents the mission as staff supporting that committee.

YC is concerned vulnerable youth & TAY, who are already underserved, will be even more disadvantaged if youth- & TAY-specific programs are scaled down or cut. YC strongly urges therefore that youth- & TAY-specific not be scaled back or cut. #Abolition #DefundThePolice

1 - YC priorities developmentally & culturally comprehensive training for youth & justice system agents (police, SROS, probation officers) in regards to rights of Youth & TAY. 2 - Community advisory workgroup designing curriculum.

3 - Developing community oriented solutions (community partners, not just orgs). 4 - Youth Budget TownHall. 5 - Expanding & assessing culturally competent, trauma-informed learning curriculum, mental health, art programs, & restorative justice, to help young people heal & grow.

The Transformative Justice Committee has a number of specific recommendations.

Recommendation continued…

Specific #DefundThePolice budget items, with amounts

President Cohen: how do you develop these recommendations? Answer from Calvin Quick: Transformative Justice Committee hears presentations from DPA, Public Defender, other govt, communitygroups, plus town halls from the youth which the YC holds. Recommendations can be quite old.

Next Item under 2: Commission Reports. C. Elias says #SB1421 reports are now online! We need to better understand officer morale and support of policy changes, so request that CRI reports include that in future.

C. Elias continued: Working groups need more attention. Rank & file (not just sgt. and above) & broad inclusion (Police Officers Association, but not other representation like Officers for Justice). Data driven review of officer safety. I’ll talk to the Chief about these.

C. Hamasaki: relationship between the District Attorney’s office and the police department is a concern. Need to work together. Officers shouldn’t discourage reporting of property crime editorializing about the DA. Forum shopping because to file on children.

President Cohen: asks that terrorism threats be included in the Chief’s report. Will be speaking with Mayor’s office on #SanFrancisco public safety goals. Encourages the public to let the commission know YOUR #PublicSafety goals to prioritize @SFPDCommission activity.

PUBLIC COMMENT: I want commissioners to be investigated for murder & inciting violence. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? An officer was beaten to death. Suggesting officers participated in a coup without evidence is shameless. Hamasaki & commissioners aspire to public office. Gross

PUBLIC COMMENT: caller supports that people elsewhere are building evidence to document people (even officers) guilty of illegal activities in DC but the caller does not support investigating a SFPD officer based on no evidence.

PUBLIC COMMENT: <cooking dinner. I missed one>. Ms Brown: wouldn’t wish anyone to have their family destroyed. I’m asking for closure 14 years later. My investigator to call me. I want him to be remembered. I want justice for my child. #AubreyAbrakasa sanfranciscopolice.org/stay-safe/ongo…

Item 3. Presentation of the SB 1421 Monthly Update (DISCUSSION). sfgov.org/policecommissi…

C. @DJYBG: asks about DPA and SFPD staffing (ongoing!). DPA: paralegal positions essential for review & redaction are up for termination so working to extend w/budget request. SFPD: a few positions unable to fill due to COVID, open attorney role for a year, made budget requests.

C. Elias: redaction codes question. <I missed the bulk of this — cooking dinner> but the response was that SFPD and DPA use the same redaction codes.

C. Hamasaki: asking for a response to an anonymous public comment with detailed #SB1421 questions. Answer DPA S. Hawkins: will need to talk to staff about case-by-case why certain documents won’t be released. For example, violent crime photos due to privacy of victims.

President Cohen: how are you doing with #CivicTech? Hawkins: it has been a journey to streamline the process. Imminent concern: redacting audio files will require resources because we’ve been disclosing transcripts & the requestor has said that is sufficient.

SFPD Waalan response: transcription vendors in negotiation, workflow can be slow, computers are not always adequate for handling the tech needs for #SB1421. President Cohen: I want to be sure you have the resources you need to do analysis & release data — let us know your needs.

PUBLIC COMMENT: D. Harris Public Defender’s Office. Monthly status report could be more useful. 1) DPA report posted. 2) Living document not just snapshot of that one month — long term trends. 3) Officers completed releases in all categories. 4) 10% compliance not on track.

PUBLIC COMMENT: calling back, thanks for covering my questions & comments. Penal Code ???? Balancing Test. #Sunshine #SB1421

Item 4. Update regarding the Street Crisis Response Team (DISCUSSION) launched in November 2020 and a second team will launch this month. 6 teams will be in operation by March 2021. Initial pilot announcement: sfmayor.org/article/san-fr…

Chief: 3,699 calls for service could have been given to SCRT but they were only able to respond to about 5% (144 calls for service). It is going to take time to scale this up. SFPD would love to see this expand and be robust. #PublicSafety #SanFrancisco #BehavioralHealth

PUBLIC COMMENT: none for #4

Item 5. Presentation of the Department #Budget Process Overview for Fiscal Year 2022/23 (DISCUSSION). President @MaliaCohen is very excited for this one! Presentation tonight & returning to the commission for a future meeting for your input: sfgov.org/policecommissi…

Screenshot is Budget Planning Process 4 stages. Start with Strategy 1.0 to get inputs. 2nd prioritize with command staff. 3rd get police commission input, align with budget policy, submit to mayor. 4th is final approval June 1 Board of Supervisors, then implementation.

Mayor’s instructions: reduce General Fund support by 7.5%, $36,953,960. Additional 2.5% contingency should #SanFrancisco fiscal condition worsen, $12,317,987. Prioritize core services & present clear tradeoffs. Focus on #COVID19, #homelessness & #MentalHealth, #SmallBiz & equity.

<unable to type while having dinner — see the presentation> Highlight: overtime reduced significantly in FY21 by -37.98%.

C. @DJYBG: this is the first presentation around the police budget process. We’ll have future presentations diving deeper into priorities, ensuring that our budget reflects those. Taking more time to understand this is a great thing. #Finance #Budgeting #Police #SanFrancisco

President Cohen: when do you start with Harvey Rose & his team? That’s when the Board of Supervisors tries to squeeze out even more of the Mayor’s Budget in the add-back process. Answer Catherine McGuire: by the 31st of May we already have questions & initial responses on June 1.

President Cohen: is the General Fund your only budget source? Can you show us this in your next report? C. McGuire: vast majority is GF. Airport is a source, but impacted by pandemic. Sales tax has a portion allocated for public safety, but also impacted by the pandemic.

C. McGuire: 87% of the budget is people, so when we cut the budget we cut people. That is new recruits. That impacts diversity. <QUESTION: what about early retirement incentives? Helping officers transfer to other departments or careers?>

Extensive discussion of testing, lists of who is eligible for promotion and why, and how to improve diversity (particularly in leadership). Chief invites commissioners to look at these details with him. President Cohen calls us back to focusing on the budget.

Patrick Leung has shared a slide about 20-21 Sources of Funding for SFPD $747,746,708 which shows: General Fund 75% $559m, State 7% $55.5m, Airport 14% $102m, Interdept 3% $19.6m, Grants <1% $682k, Local & State Mandate 1.4% $10.6m. 21-22 update is not ready yet.

McGuire: will ask @SFCityAttorney whether they have a budget item for lawsuits for SFPD & what is typical. She read an article recently saying SFPD lawsuit costs have gone down recently. #Police #Lawsuits #Liability #CityBudget #SanFrancisco

C. Hamasaki: Board concerns & discussion? We should be prepared for San Francisco cuts. McGuire: discussed the mounted unit, but later confirmed the mounted unit is voter mandated (as an example). Nothing else specific shared but it was a process.

PUBLIC COMMENT on #5. None.

Item 6. Presentation of the monthly Collaborative #Reform Initiatives “CRI” Updates (DISCUSSION) presentation by Catherine McGuire: sfgov.org/policecommissi… More info: sanfranciscopolice.org/your-sfpd/poli…

272 recommendations divided into 5 categories of reforms: Use of Force; Bias; Community Policing; Accountability; Recruitment, Hiring & Retention. Substantial Compliance is the goal, but external review & validation are final stages. In progress & request for info are earlier.

Public Comment on #6. None.

President Cohen asks questions. McGuire: over the next few months working with CalDOJ for the plans for the last recommendations. Chief: speculates that the new administration will support police reform oversight at the federal level, including funding for this work.

10 minute break!

7. Presentation regarding the Outer Vest Carrier (DISCUSSION) Presentation by Aaron Lozada about comfortable, functional custom-designed gear w/ #Narcan, gloves, tourniquets, etc: sfgov.org/policecommissi…

5% of department files back injury claims. 10% of department is receiving workers comp for wages & medical bills. Fewer officers are available for work. This vest will reduce back injuries. Research shows redistribution of weight & equipment is key.

Public Comment Item 7. Gloria Berry military & police utility belt has done a lot of damage to her back & she walks with a cane. Tried to call earlier, but wasn’t fast enough. Budget: look at Giants & Warriors savings, concerned about diversity talking point. Thanks president.

Item 8. Discussion and possible action to approved draft Department General Order 6.09, “Domestic Violence,” for meeting and conferring with the San Francisco Police Officers Association as required by law. Presentation: sfgov.org/policecommissi… #GBV #DomesticViolence

Domestic Violence Department General Order 6.09 clean version: sfgov.org/policecommissi… and redline: sfgov.org/policecommissi…

2016-2020 collaboration for #DomesticViolence & #Stalking policy w/ language access experts, ableism experts, women’s groups, city departments, attorneys, adult probation, & many more. Particular thanks to Beverly Upton of Domestic Violence Consortium @EndDVsf

Public Comment on #8. Former Prosecutor Liz Aguilar-Tarchi urges adoption. This could be a model for police departments across California.

President Cohen had to step away, but is back. Commissioner Elias was unable to respond (technical issues). Briefly paused the meeting to restore a quorum. Several key people texting saying they can’t enter public comment. 415-655-0001 Access Code 146-768-4167 press #, #, *3.

Public Comment: Beverly Upton thanks a number of people for their work on the Domestic Violence DGO. Everyone will benefit from people who are gender non-confirming, to people who are deaf and hard of hearing, to the whole community. Thank you for your patience while I called in.

Public Comment: Bay Area Legal Aid thanks so many. This will save lives. Public Standby example of the details which will make a difference. #BayLegalJustice #DomesticViolence #Stalking

Without objection, motion passes unanimously for this DGO. Item 9. Public comment on all matters pertaining to Item 11 below, Closed Session, including public comment on Item 10, vote whether to hold Item 11 in closed session. No Public Comment.

ITEM 10. Vote on whether to hold Item 11 in Closed Session (San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10). Passed! Closed Session. Interested in policing? Learn more or get involved in policing practices with @lwvsf lwvsf.org/police

Check out @beckastar’s Guide To Policing in San Francisco volunteer resource, too:

https://twitter.com/beckastar/status/1349565928124555267?s=20

I stuck around for them to come back into session. They adjourned! THE END