Sheriff's Department Oversight Board 2024 Q1 Report

Introduction

Charter Section 4.137 (b) (5) mandates that the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board (SDOB) “Prepare and submit a quarterly report to the Sheriff and the Board of Supervisors regarding the SDOB evaluations and outreach, and OIG (Office of Inspector General) reports submitted to the SDOB.”
Charter Section 4.137 also mandates that the SDOB:
1) Evaluate the work of the OIG and may review the Inspector General’s individual work performance.
2) Compile, evaluate, and recommend law enforcement custodial and patrol best practices.
3) Conduct community outreach and receive community input regarding SFSD operations and jail conditions, by holding public meetings and soliciting input from persons incarcerated in the City and County.

Evaluations during Q1 2024:

Inspector General Terry Wiley onboarded on January 8, 2024 and OIG has not yet been established. Therefore, SDOB made no evaluations for Q1.

The Mayor’s Budget Office reviewed the IG’s budget proposal and has indicated that it will not provide a budget for FY 2024-2025 to fund any hires to staff OIG because of the City’s overall budget constraints. The IG continues to advocate for and seek sources of funding.

The Mayor’s Budget Office has encouraged the IG to continue to leverage staff from the Department of Police Accountability (DPA) for support but doing so is untenable for any extended period of time. DPA currently handles serious complaints under a Letter of Agreement with the Sheriff’s Office. OIG was established to handle all Sheriff’s Office complaints, those currently handled by the Sheriff’s Office and the serious complaints handled by DPA.

SDOB community outreach:

SDOB as a whole did no community outreach in Q1. IG Wiley attended many events around the Bay Area to raise awareness about the Office of the Inspector General which in turn, raised awareness of the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board. He was the keynote speaker for the Silicon Valley NAACP Black History Month Celebration. During a busy February celebratory month, he also marched in the San Francisco Lunar New Year Parade and was a panelist for “A Conversation with Living Legends of the Largest Black Bar Associations.”

OIG reports submitted to SDOB for Q1 2024:

None. As indicated above, until such time as OIG is staffed with at least one investigator OIG will not be submitting reports. The Department of Police Accountability will be verifying data and information to present a report to SDOB at the May 2024 meeting.

Summary of monthly commission board meetings:

January

At the January meeting, SDOB commemorated the life of Oakland Police Office Tuan Le whose end of watch was on December 29, 2023.

Undersheriff Katherine Johnson presented on operations, budget, staffing, and how complaints are handled, from intake to investigations, review by the Undersheriff, and any corrective or disciplinary action.

Alexandra Schulteis, Director of Mediation at the Department of Police Accountability (DPA), presented on the mediation process that DPA utilizes. This program may be of consideration by the Office of the Inspector General in the future.

Nicole Armstrong, Chief Operating Officer at DPA, presented the budget for FY24 and FY25.

February

At the February meeting, SDOB welcomed Inspector General Terry Wiley who appeared and introduced himself to SDOB members and the public.

Cedric Akbar and other members of the re-entry community appeared and spoke on the challenges of re-entry and necessary services and support before and after re-entry. The Latino Task Force and other members of the Latino community expressed the need for in-language services for incarcerated Spanish-speakers.

SDOB discussed, reviewed, and approved SDOB 2023 reports for Q3 and Q4 and its Annual Report to the Sheriff and the Board of Supervisors.

SDOB discussed 2024 Priorities, Tasks, Timelines, and Benchmarks and possible amendments to SF Charter section 4.137 that established oversight of the Sheriff’s Office.

March

At the March meeting, IG Wiley gave a report on his activities and meetings since he onboarded in January. Much of his focus has been to advocate for funding to have an administrative assistant and ideally one or two investigators to phase in a fully staffed Office of Inspector General.

Angela Chan, Assistant Chief Attorney from the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, presented an overview of the SF Public Defender’s Office and the clients they serve, highlighting their experiences with jail conditions and client legal service visits.

San Francisco Sheriff’s Office (SFSO) Chief Deputy Lisette Adams presented on SFSO’s Custody Division.

SDOB members had a robust discussion on amending SF Charter section 4.137. After a lengthy discussion, a motion on specific language amendments failed to garner the requisite majority of the seven (7) seats comprising the full board to adopt an action item. (To be noted, a majority of SDOB members present voted for the specific language amendments.)

Any further consideration of this item is on hold. The proposed action was time-sensitive for placement on the November 2024 ballot and possible timelines for a legislative sponsor would likely expire.

Other:

IG Terry Wiley forged ahead to develop a real-time online case management and complaint system with the assistance of Marshall Khine, Chief Attorney for the Department of Police Accountability, that was launched mid-March and he continues to meet with stakeholders and service providers. SDOB is committed to fostering data-driven and evidence-based policies and best practices. With appropriate resources, San Francisco is poised to have a top Office of the Inspector General that will cultivate a Sheriff’s Office that is one of the best in the nation.