San Francisco police freed from California DOJ oversight
San Francisco Police Bill Scott discusses shooting on June 18, 2023
SAN FRANCISCO - The California Attorney General on Tuesday released the San Francisco Police Department from state oversight, which it has been under since 2018.
AG Rob Bonta released a 124-page report and a statement praising SFPD for implementing 263 or 272 reforms, a total of 96.7%, recommended by his office. The remaining nine reforms, Bonta noted, are in progress.
Citing the department's successes, Bonta said that SFPD under Police Chief Bill Scott has a "strong organizational and cultural commitment to reform."
"This report marks an important milestone in SFPD’s yearslong effort to increase public trust by improving its policing practices, transparency, and accountability," Bonta said in a statement. "As we close this chapter, I am optimistic that SFPD will build on these reforms to continue to reduce racial disparities in stops, searches, and the use of force by SFPD officers."
Oversight began after several controversial police shootings, including that of Mario Woods in 2015.
The end of the oversight comes as Daniel Lurie is set to take over as San Francisco's mayor on Wednesday and as San Francisco touted crime rates at a 20-year low.
Coincidentally, Scott and outgoing Mayor London Breed announced on Tuesday that overall crime in 2024 was at its lowest point since 2001, and that homicides are at a 60-year low.
In terms of internal police reforms, Bonta noted that SFPD's overall use of force and the use of force involving all racial groups declined between 2017 and 2023.
But SFPD does need to work on a few areas, Bonta noted, as the department's use-of-force statistics still show racial disparities.
In a statement, Scott noted the "significant milestone" the department has reached and hoped that these new reforms will pave the way for the "future of policing."
Scott thanked the DOJ, the Jensen Hughes company and his officers for all their work.
San Francisco isn't alone in having its police department being put under some type of oversight.
The Antioch Police Department agreed to state oversight last week following a racist text scandal. In October, Vallejo agreed to a five-year court oversight by the AG's office, where the police department must complete 45 reforms and be approved by an independent evaluator.
The Oakland Police Department has been under federal oversight for more than 20 years – the longest running in the United States, following what is known as the Riders scandal, where several Black men sued the city saying they were falsely arrested because police planted drugs on them, and sometimes beat up by officers.
OPD came close to emerging from this federal oversight during then-Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong's tenure, but he was fired in 2023 by then-Mayor Sheng Thao, who was recalled and left office last month.
A KTVU investigation in 2020 found that Bay Area law enforcement agencies engaged in long-term reform efforts -- including having independent oversight like Oakland -- are paying much less in civil penalties for injuring or killing people compared to departments left to police themselves.
At the time, Oakland, along with San Francisco, showed stunning turnarounds after taking on some of the most comprehensive reforms in the country.
In comparison, two Bay Area cities that have either no or minimal oversight have had much larger police payouts stemming from wrongful death and excessive force payouts.