Plan OKd to track S.F. police's use of force

Plan OKd to track S.F. police
Computer system to tally each officer's use of force
Susan Sward, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Printable Version Email This Article
A tracking system to identify San Francisco police officers who resort repeatedly to force or exhibit other problematic behavior won Police Commission approval Wednesday -- four years after critics first urged its adoption.

The planned computerized system will track use of force, citizen complaints, internal department complaints, officer-involved shootings whether anyone is hit or not, legal claims and lawsuits against officers, on-duty accidents and vehicle pursuits.

Problem officers flagged by the system could be subject to counseling or retraining.

Mayor Gavin Newsom, who had pushed for adoption of the system by the end of 2006 after a Chronicle series on the use of force, praised the commission's vote in a statement.

"This system is an essential innovation that will allow the department to proactively identify any issues that arise,'' said the mayor, who successfully lobbied to set aside more than $1 million in the 2006-07 city budget for the system's startup costs.

Department officials say they expect the program, known as the Early Intervention System, to be fully operational by the end of the year.

The system, which attaches points to the behavior it tracks, will enable supervisors to review quickly the records of potentially problematic officers who could benefit from departmental intervention.

The 6-1 vote capped months of on-again, off-again negotiations in which the department met separately with the San Francisco Police Officers Association and the American Civil Liberties Union to try to work out a system acceptable to all. Commissioner David Campos voted no on the measure, saying he wanted a stronger system.

In his testimony, the Police Officers Association's general counsel, John Tennant, told the commission that his group would not challenge the system in its current form but reserved the right to challenge any changes proposed in the future.

The ACLU's Mark Schlosberg expressed different concerns, saying, "The order as presented is a marked improvement over the status quo, but it could be better.'' He told The Chronicle later that some cities have stronger systems tracking more indicators of potentially problematic behavior, including officers' involvement in resisting-arrest cases.

Plaintiffs' attorneys say officers often make resisting-arrest allegations to mask their own use of excessive force, but the Police Officers Association argues that officers in high-crime areas often face criminals who resist them and that should not be counted against them.

Samuel Walker, one of the nation's top experts on law enforcement tracking systems, voiced another criticism of the system in a letter to the commission, saying he is opposed to a provision that will not allow the system's database to be used by the department when it is making promotions or job assignments.

"I feel very strongly that this is a mistake,'' Walker wrote. He said the Early Intervention System "data is particularly valuable for making personnel decisions. An officer with a pattern of problematic conduct is not a suitable candidate for promotion.''

Deputy Police Chief Charles Keohane told the commission Wednesday night that the information contained within the system will be available elsewhere in the department. Keohane had said earlier that the provision was inserted to reassure the police union that the system was nondisciplinary.

In 2003, both the city controller's office and the American Civil Liberties Union had strongly backed a tracking system, saying it was needed to give the department the ability to monitor officers' records and to detect patterns of conduct within the 2,100-member force.

The Police Department's current system for monitoring officers' conduct is not centralized or computerized, and some of its records -- such as its reports on its officers' use of force -- are in handwritten, often illegible form.

Many police departments across the country have installed tracking systems and echo law enforcement experts who say they are a crucial tool for identifying problem officers early before discipline becomes necessary.

The San Francisco department tracks officers' use of force and any citizen complaints filed against officers, but that information is not computerized in a fashion that produces a quick snapshot of an officer's record.

For a decade, the department also has maintained a watch list of officers who use force on citizens three or more times in any three-month period, but The Chronicle series revealed that several officers have had their names on that list numerous times yet remained on the streets alongside peers who use far less force while working in similar positions.

Before the vote, several commissioners mentioned how long it had taken to bring the general order to a final vote. Commissioner Theresa Sparks said that during her three years on the commission, she has heard repeatedly that the system would be implemented soon.

"We need to do whatever we can to get whatever resources we need. This has been going on for too long,'' she said.

E-mail Susan Sward at ssward [at] sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle