SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The San Francisco Police Department is earning high marks for its efforts at reform, with a state report stating it’s the only department in the U.S. to substantially comply with reform recommendations.
“This is a significant achievement as it is the only example of voluntary reform at this level in the United States,” the 535-page report – published under the supervision of Attorney General Rob Bonta – states.
The department has been in a process of reform since 2016 when – after it faced criticism after the officer-involved killing of Mario Woods – the U.S. Department of Justice found that it had “institutional bias” against minorities and issued 272 recommendations.
Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department entered into collaborative reform partnerships with police departments nationwide, including the SFPD. In 2017, the Trump administration ended the Justice Department’s involvement, but the SFPD decided to continue to implement the recommendations, this time in partnership with the state’s Justice Department and private consultant group Jensen Hughes.
Jensen Hughes prepared the report, published February 11, which found that the SFPD had completed 193 of the 272 recommendations (71% of the total).
The recommendations involve five categories of reforms related to use of force, bias, community policing, accountability and recruiting/hiring personnel.
The collaborative reform initiative is just one of the department’s efforts to modernize.
The department is also implementing Mayor London Breed’s police reform plan, announced in June 2020, and a racial equity action and inclusion plan, announced in December of that year.
Breed’s four-part plan involves reducing police responses to non-criminal street crises (which she wants moved over to the new street crisis response team), eliminating biased policing, demilitarizing the department, and “promoting economic justice through budget reallocations that aid traditionally marginalized communities.”
Police Chief Bill Scott stated he’s proud at the department’s ability to change.
“I’m incredibly proud to lead a department whose members have been fearless in identifying areas for needed improvement and united in our drive to accomplish it,” Chief Scott said. “While we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, we’re not done improving. … San Francisco has led progressive change nationwide throughout its history — and at the San Francisco Police Department, we are honored to carry that mantle today for the city we serve.”