Chapter 96F — COMMUNITY POLICING PLANS

Sec. 96F.1. Community Policing Plans; Foot and Bike Patrols.

Sec. 96F.2. Undertaking for the General Welfare.

(a) Development of Community Policing Plans. The Police Department (“SFPD”) shall implement a Community Policing Plan (“CPP”) for each police district station. The CPP shall be publicly available and posted on SFPD’s website and on each station’s website. SFPD shall submit each CPP to the Police Commission so that the Police Commission may consider the CPP in conjunction with its consideration of SFPD’s budget under Chapter 3 of the Administrative Code.

(b) Community Policing Plans. SFPD shall finalize the CPPs no later than January 1, 2023, and review and update them on an annual basis by January 1 of each year. The purpose of CPPs is to foster collaboration and open communication between police officers and community members, including neighborhood associations and groups, small businesses, merchant groups, non-profits, school groups, and neighborhood leaders. The CPPs shall:

(1) Support a culture and practice of policing that reflects the values of protection and promotion of the dignity of all people, and, especially, the most vulnerable in the community.

(2) Foster an environment where requests for service and information from SFPD are handled in a timely and transparent manner.

(3) Support SFPD’s ongoing reform efforts to increase community engagement, trust, positive interactions, and relations between the community and police officers.

(4) Promote collaboration with groups described in this subsection (b) to identify problems as well as solutions that will produce meaningful results for the community, and incorporate information learned from the Community Process in subsection (e).

(5) Subject to the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Charter and staffing availability, deploy foot and bike patrol officers at each district station.

(6) Include a succession plan for the transfer and continual implementation of CPPs when changes in district station captains occur.

(c) Foot and/or Bike Patrol Strategy and Assignments.

(1) Foot and/or Bike Patrol Strategy. By no later than January 1, 2024, the Chief of Police shall (A) adopt a foot and/or bike patrol strategy that identifies the areas where foot and/or bike patrol officers are most needed to effectively reduce crime and strengthen SFPD’s partnership and trust with the community, (B) develop a map outlining the footprint of the foot and/or bike patrol beats within the boundaries of each of SFPD’s district stations to dictate the street locations foot and/or bike patrol officers may travel as described in subsection (c)(2), and (C) develop a formula for designating the foot and/or bike patrol streets and boundaries based on the reporting of crime, high volume foot traffic, maximizing crime prevention, and any other factors the Chief of Police deems appropriate to meet the needs of the community. The Chief of Police shall submit to the Police Commission the foot and/or bike patrol strategy, map, and formula described in this subsection (c)(1) and a staffing analysis for foot and/or bike patrols so that the Commission may hold a hearing to review the strategy, map, formula, and staffing analysis. Thereafter, the Chief of Police may modify the strategy, map, or formula from time to time in the Chief’s discretion.

(2) Foot and Bike Patrols Assignments. The Chief of Police shall assign foot and/or bike patrol officers to each district station in the City, in the geographic locations identified as described in subsection (c)(1). Foot and bike patrol officers shall have the knowledge and skills required of a foot or bike patrol officer, as well as ties to the community the district station serves or the ability to readily develop such ties. To the extent permitted by law and labor agreements, the Chief of Police shall give due consideration to minimizing the reassignment of foot and bike patrol officers in order to promote continuity between the officers and community members with the goal of strengthening SFPD’s relationships with the community.

(3) Foot and Bike Patrols Budget. Each fiscal year, the Chief of Police shall submit to the Police Commission a budget and level of staffing for foot and/or bike patrols as part of the proposed budget that the Chief of Police submits to the Police Commission.

(d) SFPD Community Policing Strategies. SFPD shall provide time and resources for departmental involvement in community events, relationship-building exercises and problem-solving activities. SFPD shall serve the diverse populations represented in each district station using the principles of the CPPs.

SFPD shall create community policing strategies that address quality-of-life issues and community language access needs as follows:

(1) Quality of Life Issues. SFPD shall develop a strategy for proactive problem solving on quality of life issues, nuisances, and crime prevention, and identify alternatives to criminal law enforcement for quality of life issues. In the face of these concerns, SFPD community policing strategies shall create a sense of community where members of the community feel safe and secure.

(2) Language Access Needs. SFPD shall incorporate a strategy tailored to address the distinct language access needs of communities served by each district station.

(e) Community Process. SFPD shall create a public process for eliciting community input for the CPPs from community members, including neighborhood associations and groups, small businesses, merchant groups, non-profits, school groups, and neighborhood leaders that provide direct services to San Francisco residents in areas served by their respective district stations before adoption of the CPPs. SFPD shall consider and incorporate, to the extent possible, community feedback that includes a proactive problem-solving approach in designing CPPs. This public process is intended to allow the community to provide valuable input to SFPD as a measure of accountability.

(Added by Ord. 93-22, File No. 220240, App. 6/24/2022, Eff. 7/25/2022; amended by Ord. 232-23, File No. 231008, App. 11/17/2023, Eff. 12/18/2023)

In enacting and implementing this Chapter 96F, the City is assuming an undertaking only to promote the general welfare. It is not assuming, nor is it imposing on its officers and employees, an obligation for breach of which it is liable in money damages to any person who claims that such breach proximately caused injury.

(Added by Ord. 93-22, File No. 220240, App. 6/24/2022, Eff. 7/25/2022)