Public Safety Committee Hearing on Law Enforcement Data Dashboards - October 12, 2023
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Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee Hearing on Law Enforcement Data Dashboards - October 12, 2023
The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors convened on Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 6:15 PM. The meeting primarily focused on a hearing to examine how San Francisco law enforcement data dashboards can provide more transparent, user-friendly, and anonymized information on crime and law enforcement response. A second agenda item on human trafficking was continued due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the Department on Status of Women. The committee heard presentations from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Budget and Legislative Analyst, the District Attorney's Office, and the San Francisco Police Department. Key outcomes included motions to amend the hearing scope and continue the item to a future date.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were on the agenda.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comment was offered on the continuance of Agenda Item #1 (Human Trafficking Report).
- On Agenda Item #2, one remote caller was connected but did not speak; the line was unattended.
Discussion Items
Agenda Item #1: Hearing on Human Trafficking in San Francisco 2021 Report
- Chair Catherine Stephanie announced that staff from the Department on Status of Women requested a continuance due to a COVID-19 outbreak, preventing the scheduled presentation. The item was continued to the call of the chair without opposition.
Agenda Item #2: Hearing on Law Enforcement Data Dashboards
- Vice Chair Joel Engardio opened the hearing, emphasizing the need for transparent, accessible crime data to build public trust. He noted the long history of inadequate data systems in San Francisco, citing the 25-year-old Justice Tracking Information System (JUSTIS) that remains incomplete after tens of millions of dollars.
- Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, President of the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, spoke first. He highlighted journalists' struggles to obtain crime data across agencies, particularly demographic data linked to cases. He described the cumbersome process of following a case from arrest to court, with limited access to police reports, DA charging decisions, and court records. He called for unique tracking numbers, downloadable raw data, and daily public arrest record portals.
- Fred Brousseau from the Budget and Legislative Analyst's Office presented a comparative analysis of prosecutorial data dashboards. Hedenonstrated that San Francisco’s DA dashboard, while one of the first in California, lacks key features present in other jurisdictions (e.g., Yolo County, Cook County, Milwaukee). Missing features include filters for defendant demographics (race, ethnicity, age, gender), geographic location of incidents, firearm involvement, severity of offense, and case disposition details (e.g., felony reduction rates). Estimated cost to enhance the dashboard: $134,400 initial and $240,000 annually.
- Eddie McCaffrey and Nora Gregory from the District Attorney’s Office presented existing dashboards (cases presented, case resolutions, victim services). They confirmed the office is committed to expanding transparency but lacks staffing (0.75 FTE currently). They estimated needing one additional analyst ($116,000/year) and a temporary systems engineer ($18,000 one-time) to add features like geographic data, performance metrics, and diversion program data. They noted no policy reason prevents sharing demographic data; past data quality issues have been resolved through direct feeds from the Sheriff’s Department.
- Catherine McGuire, Director of the SFPD Strategic Management Bureau, described current and planned data systems. The department is implementing a new records management system (Central Square) to replace legacy systems, which will enable NIBERS compliance and better case management. She addressed challenges in releasing police reports: requests require manual redaction by the reporting officer, leading to delays. She expressed openness to linking from crime dashboards to other agencies' public records (e.g., DA charging documents) via simple instructions or hyperlinks.
- Committee members explored creative solutions for cross-agency data linking, the feasibility of providing police report access via automated redaction, and the state of the JUSTIS system. Supervisor Dorsey raised concerns about state prohibitions on disclosing criminal offender record information (CORI) and the difficulty of tracking individual re-arrests.
Agenda Item #2: Discussion on JUSTIS System
- In response to questions from Chair Stephanie and Supervisor Dorsey, it was noted that JUSTIS (the internal data-sharing system among public safety agencies) has been ongoing since 1997 with tens of millions in funding but still faces challenges. The committee agreed that a separate hearing on JUSTIS is warranted.
Key Outcomes
- Motion (Item #2): Vice Chair Engardio moved to amend the hearing title to remove the Mayor's Office of Innovation and add the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, and the Sheriff's Department. The motion passed unanimously (3-0).
- Motion (Item #2): Vice Chair Engardio moved to continue the amended hearing to the call of the chair. The motion passed unanimously (3-0).
- Motion (Item #1): Chair Stephanie moved to continue the Human Trafficking hearing to the call of the chair. The motion passed without opposition.
- The committee intends to hold a follow-up hearing that includes the Superior Court and Sheriff's Department to address data transparency for the entire criminal justice process.
Meeting Transcript
You are unmuted. This meeting will come to order. Welcome to the October 12th, 2023 regular meeting of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee. I am Catherine Stephanie, Chair of the Committee, and to my right is Vice Chair Engardio, and to my left is Supervisor Dorsey. The clerk is Mr. John Carroll, and I'd also like to thank Colina Mendoza at SFGov TV for staffing this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. The Board of Supervisors and its committees are convening hybrid meetings that allow in-person attendance and public comment while still providing remote access and public comment via telephone. The board recognizes that equitable public access is essential, and we will be taking public comment as follows. First, public comment will be taken on each item on today's agenda. Those attending in person will be allowed to speak first, and then we will hear from those who are waiting on the telephone line. The public comment call-in number for today's meeting is 415-65501. When prompted, enter the meeting ID for today's meeting. The meeting ID is 2663 593 6535. After you've entered the meeting ID, press the pound symbol twice. You'll be connected to the meeting. You'll hear the meeting discussions, but your telephone line will be muted and in listening mode. When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, those joining us in person should line up to speak along the curtain wall that I'll point out each time. And those on the telephone should dial star three to be added to the speaker line. If you're on your telephone, please remember to turn down the volume on your television and your computer, your listening devices, your radio, whatever you may be using to access today's proceedings. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing. You may send your written public comment via email to myself, the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee Clerk. My email address is J-O-H-N period C A R R O L L at SFGOV.org. Or you may send your written comments via U.S. Post to our office in City Hall, that is one Dr. Carlton B. Goodley Place, San Francisco, California, 94102. The clerk's office is room 244. And if you submit public comment in writing, I will forward your comment to the supervisors and it will be included as part of the official file on which you are commenting. There are no action items on today's agenda, Madam Chair. That concludes my announcements. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Will you please call the first item? Agenda item number one is a hearing on the findings and recommendations made in the human trafficking in San Francisco 2021 report. Thank you. And colleagues, I was very much looking forward to having this hearing today, but unfortunately the staff have um at DSO Um at the Department on Status of Women have asked us to continue this. They have had a um COVID outbreak, so we are not able to have the hearing today. As such, I do intend to continue this item to the call of the chair. Uh if you don't have any questions, we can go straight to public comment on the continuance. Very good. We will take public comment now on agenda item number one. Do we have anyone joining us here in the chamber who has public comment on agenda one? Seeing none, let's turn our attention to those who are connected remotely. If you wish to speak on agenda item number one, please say I'll star three. And Madam Chair, I see that we have no callers in the queue. Thank you. Public comment is now closed.
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