Recommend a police department audit

Planning

We do background research, look at data, and interview police staff. Then we identify priorities for the audit.

Fieldwork

We learn more about the audit priorities. We analyze more data, observe officers, and look at documents. 

Reporting

We share the audit results with the department and the public. Our report summarizes our findings and recommends areas to improve. 

The department must respond to our recommendations. We also check to see if the department follows the recommendations. 

Independence

Our audits are independent and objective. We follow federal standards for audits. 

Read the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS, also known as “Yellow Book”). 

Authority

San Francisco Charter (Section 4.136) mandates DPA to audit the San Francisco Police Department’s use of force and handling of police misconduct every 2 years.

The charter also gives us the authority to conduct performance audits and reviews. We check whether the SFPD has followed all laws, ordinances, and policies. DPA’s director decides the frequency, topics, and scope of the audits and reviews.