Police Commission confirms joint meeting
with Board of Supervisors

By Aldrich M. Tan

May 4, 2006

The San Francisco police commission announced that it will officially have a joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors in June.

"It will be a useful dialogue," said Louise Renne, commission president. "The joint meeting will demonstrate how the different branches are reaching out to each other."

Police Commission President Louise Renne (right)
with Police Commissioner Teresa Sparks (left)
Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

Renne said the joint meeting will tentatively take place on June 7.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said he initiated the idea of the joint meeting at a Gun and Gang Violence last month. Mirkarimi recommended that the joint meetings take place at Western Addition and Bayview, followed by other locations throughout the city.

Meanwhile, the police staff is working with its limited resources to the best it can, Deputy Police Chief Morris Tabak said. Special efforts have led to a gradual annual decrease of homicides and an increase in drug busts.

Deputy Police Chief Morris Tabak

On April 20, the department completed a two year investigation which led to a Hells Angels drug bust, Tabak said. On April 25, the police completed a four month drug bust operation in the Western Addition.

The department recently is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on a multi-county drug bust which started early Wednesday, Tabak said. Federal investigations are taking place throughout the Bay Area and in the Bayview, Ingleside, and Mission districts.

The department continues to conduct two operations on a monthly basis, Tabak said. The fact that a large number of investigators are retiring is among other challenges that the department faces.

"The criminal justice system is a system in which all the levels of the system must work efficiently," Police Chief Heather Fong said. "People work hard to ensure that there is accountability and that is why we are pushing for better resources."

Police Chief Heather Fong

The police commission adopted a resolution to request the Controller's Office to conduct a performance audit of the Office of Citizen Complaints, an agency that deals with local complaints of police officer misconduct.

"I am especially concerned about how the OCC. addresses the issues of our diverse non-English speaking communities," commissioner David Campos said.

Police Commissioner David Campos

The Office of Citizen Complaints presented a detailed quarterly report on its Early Warning System to the commissioners at Wednesday's meeting. The system identifies and evaluates the behavior of officers who have received three or more complaints within six months and four or more complaints within a year.

23 officers have received three or more complaints within the last six months and 22 officers have had four or more complaints within the year, said Kevin Allen, director of the Office of Citizen Complaints.

Allen said he welcomes the agency's audit.

"I believe that any criticism of our agency will be beneficial," Allen said.

Accountability will continue to be the focus of the police commission meetings. The commission will have a discussion with Alan Nance, director of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, at next week's meeting.

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