SFPD in Substantial Compliance Following Years-long Reform Process 25-002

The San Francisco Police Department was found to be in “substantial compliance” in its years-long collaborative reform effort, the California Department of Justice, which independently oversaw the work, announced Tuesday. 

The report marks the end of the memorandum of understanding between the SFPD and the Cal DOJ, which alongside partner Jensen Hughes, served as a monitor for the SFPD’s implementation of 272 reforms recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2016. 

The accomplishments demonstrate that the SFPD can be a national model for policing in the 21st century, showing that reform efforts build community trust, which improves public safety.  

As the SFPD closes out this phase of an 8-year-long reform process, crime is down significantly in every category thanks to our hard-working officers and growing support from the public.  

“Today marks a significant milestone for the SFPD and for the future of policing,” said Chief Bill Scott. “Crime has reached historic lows thanks to our hard-working officers and our work to build community relationships through our reform efforts. I want to thank the California Department of Justice and Jensen Hughes for their partnership in this work. The SFPD will continue to make our city safer as we stand as a model for 21st Century Policing for the nation. I want to thank our officers who continue to police San Francisco with dignity and respect. This is an ongoing effort that we will sustain for years to come.” 

“This is a major accomplishment for San Francisco, our Police Department, and the community that has fought for justice for years,” said Mayor London Breed. “To see this accomplished at a time where we are seeing crime rates drop to levels not seen in over twenty years shows that we can deliver transformative reforms while remaining committed to accountability.

I want to recognize Chief Scott and the entire team at SFPD who did the work with the California Department of Justice over several years. San Francisco once again has shown its leadership in creating a safer and more just city for all.  

In 2016, the SFPD partnered with then-President Obama’s Justice Department, asking for a review of the department following several high-profile officer-involved shootings and other controversies, leading to growing public criticism.  

The US Department of Justice issued a 431-page report with a total of 272 recommendations for improvement, which the SFPD agreed to adopt.  

The SFPD continued the reform initiative with the California Department of Justice after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ended the partnership in 2017. Since 2018, SFPD has worked with the Cal DOJ and consulting firm Jensen Hughes to continue to implement the 272 recommendations.   

The Cal DOJ highlighted areas where the SFPD has shown progress including: 

• A decline in uses of force and the use of force rate involving every racial group.  
• A decline in the number of police shootings. 
• A decline in the rate of force used against Black individuals compared with the rate of force involving other races.  

The SFPD has created internal controls to ensure that these reform efforts are sustained into the future. An SFPD team will review and ensure all the recommendations are monitored and updated to account for any changes in the law or policy.