Protocols

Justice and Courage Project
Protocols Committee
September 10, 2003, Meeting
Minutes

Place:   Bay Area Legal Aid, 50 Fell St., San Francisco

In attendance: 
Oli Sadler, Dept. of Technology and Information Services
Barbara Brooten Job, Justice and Courage Oversight Panel
Rosario Navarrette, Department on the Status of Women
Rebecca Gooch, Department on the Status of Women
Justine McGonagle, Department on the Status of Women
Susan Fahey, San Francisco Sheriff's Department
Rachel Kilshaw, San Francisco Police Dept., Domestic Violence Response Unit
Barbara Kempster, Emergency Communications Department
Ken Theisen, Bay Area Legal Aid
Mary Twomey, Institute on Aging
Cynthia Alexis, SFDA, Victim Services
Sharon Woo, San Francisco District Attorney's Office

Introductions/Roll Call
Co-Chair Barbara Brooten Job called the meeting to order.

Approval of Agenda
The agenda of the September 10, 2003, meeting was approved.

Review of Minutes

The minutes of the August 13, 2003 meeting were approved. 

Select Recorder for Next Meeting
Susan Fahey agreed to serve as the Committee’s recorder at the October meeting.

Update on ICCC Meeting
Barbara Brooten-Job reported on the Interdepartmental Communications and Coordination (ICCC) meeting.  Barbara indicated that for:

Proposal 1 (P1) It has been determined that Police Officer Standard Training (POST) rules provide paid time for training to all employees, with class fees covered by POST, as well.

P2:  Plans for arranging mandatory training for staff of the Emergency Communications Department (ECD) are moving forward.  Barbara Kempster of the Protocols Committee and Carol Bernard of ECD will work on this task together.  They will research other California counties training for ECD staff to determine which curricula are the model ones for replication in San Francisco.

P3:  Review of domestic violence dispatch protocol is underway at ECD.

P4:  Kerry Dalrymple is the liaison between ECD and relevant law enforcement agencies.

P5:  The ICCC approved the recommendation that Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) include a premise hazard warning.  This recommendation will now go to the Justice and Courage Oversight Panel.

Review of Police Department Protocols (continued from last month)
Inspector Rachel Kilshaw announced that she is being transferred to another department within the SFPD.  Inspector Art Stelline will also be joining the DVRU.  However, Inspector Kilshaw will continue to serve on the Protocols Committee until the presentation of the Police Departments Domestic Violence Unit Protocols is complete.  Inspector Kilshaw also mentioned that SFPD DVRU has a new lieutenant, Lou Cassanego.

Inspector Kilshaw distributed three handouts:
*Record of Investigation SFPD 7 (Rev. 4/95) 3800-23;
*Disposition of Felony/Misdemeanor Non-Warrant Arrest(s); and
*San Francisco Police Department Chronological of Investigation

Inspector Kilshaw then presented on what happens to a DV case when it arrives at the Police Department.  A discussion ensued about “holds” that police officers can place on suspects.  Currently officers can only place a hold on a suspect if they are on felony probation and have been picked up on a felony arrest.  Committee members suggested that it might be useful if officers could put a hold on suspects who are on misdemeanor probation but are picked up on a felony.

Inspector Kilshaw also described how the DVRU routinely notifies the probation department when a suspect is booked and it is discovered that he/she is on probation.  She indicated that this policy is not followed by all units of the Police Department which means that some probation violations are not being brought to the Adult Probation Department’s notice by the Police Department.

A discussion ensued about the backlog in processing Stay-Away orders into the CABLE and CLETS systems.  The backlog appears to be in the Police ID Bureau.  When Stay-Away orders are not entered into the system, they are not accessible to patrol officers.  Without this information, patrol officers cannot know how to intervene when called to the scene of a domestic violence case where one person is alleging that he/she has a Stay-Away order against the other (or, conversely, that someone is saying that the order has been lifted).

After discussion, the Committee formulated two recommendations for the ICCC and one item for expedited action.  The two recommendations are:

1. The Bureau of Inspectors should send out a Bureau Order telling all inspectors that they should notify the Adult Probation Department when a suspect is booked and it is discovered that he/she is on probation.  In addition, it was also proposed that:

2. All Assignment Officers should run all “suspect only” cases for probation violations and notify the Adult Probation Department when cases are identified.

Expedited Action:   The Committee also decided to authorize Inspector Kilshaw to contact the Police Chief immediately regarding the backlog of Stay-Away orders.

Next Meeting
The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 8, 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the offices of Bay Area Legal Aid, 50 Fell St., San Francisco.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.