Public Safety: Mayor Announces Police Dept. Reforms

Today Mayor Edwin M. Lee joined by Police Commission President Suzy Loftus, Police Chief Greg Suhr and community leaders announced a comprehensive package of police reforms to increase public safety, build greater trust between police officers and the community and make the department more responsive, transparent and accountable. These efforts to fundamentally re-engineer the way that police officers use force include are wide-ranging, and include the creation of a new Bureau of Professional Standards & Principled Policing, major expansions to the Crisis Intervention Team network, new prohibitions on the use of firearms in specific circumstances, and a new Community Safety Initiative to recruit young people from San Francisco neighborhoods most impacted by violence to work with the Department to improve community trust.

“This comprehensive package of police reforms will help our sworn officers strengthen their ties with the community and keep our City safe through a culture change in how we handle conflicts on our streets,” said Mayor Lee. “Reforms include a review by the U.S. Department of Justice, our nation’s highest law enforcement authority, to improve upon policies, procedures and training related to use-of-force. These type of sweeping changes will need all of us – advocates, City officials, community members and police officers alike – to work together to rebuild community trust, and that’s what will help San Francisco remain one of the safest big cities in the nation. I want to thank Commission President Suzy Loftus for her hours upon hours of work with the community in the past few months, and Chief Suhr’s leadership in instituting reforms so quickly.”