DECEMBER 5, 2012 JOINT MEETING
The Police Commission of the City and County of San Francisco and the Commission on the Status of Women met in Room 250, City Hall, #1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, at 5:15 p.m.
PRESENT: Commissioners Mazzucco, Marshall, Chan, Kingsley, Turman, Loftus
Commissioners Soo, Kirshner-Rodriguez, Gamez, Gulbengay, Prowda, Shorter
ABSENT: Commissioner DeJesus
CALL TO ORDER/AGENDA CHANGES
- Welcome by Commission Presidents Soo and Mazzucco
- Introduction by Commissioners
Commissioner Mazzucco welcomed everyone and asked the Commissioners to introduce themselves.
CONSENT CALENDAR
- To support the reauthorization of the federal Violence Against Women Act
- To recognize the 10-year Anniversary of the Justice & Courage Project on Domestic Violence Policy Reform
Commissioner Shorter introduced Beverly Upton, Kathy Black, and Gimel Perkins.
Motion by Commissioner Shorter, second by Commissioner Rodriguez. Approved 12-0.
RESOLUTION NO. 12-62
SAN FRANCISCO COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN AND THE SAN FRANCISCO POLICE COMMISSION RESOLUTION URGING THE U.S. CONGRESS TO PASS THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT
BE IT KNOWN that the Commission on the Status of Women and the Police Commission of the City and County of San Francisco hereby issue and authorize the execution, by the subscribing Commissioners, of the following resolution:
WHEREAS, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), first passed in 1994, is landmark legislation designed to improve criminal justice and community-based responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the United States; and, for the past 18 years, VAWA has expanded prevention by 1) facilitating coordinated community responses to these crimes between law enforcement and victim services providers, 2) funding specialized training for various levels of law enforcement, and 3) supporting community-based organizations that offer programs for victims; and,
WHEREAS, since the passage of VAWA, the rate of non-fatal intimate partner violence against women has decreased by 53 percent and states have passed more than 600 laws to combat these domestic violence crimes; and, the Department of Justice estimates that the comprehensive and cost-effective VAWA programs accounted for nearly $12.6 billion in next averted social costs in just its first six years; and,
WHEREAS, the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization (S. 1925) extends the law for another four years and adds protection s that would 1) increase the number of visas available to victims of domestic violence who are undocumented immigrants, 2) ban discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender victims of domestic violence, and 3) give more authority to Native American tribes to address domestic violence; and
WHEREAS, while there were 7,721 domestic violence calls to 911 in San Francisco, and 3,734 domestic violence cases sent to the Police Department during FY11-12, there have been no reported deaths from domestic violence in San Francisco to date this year, an achievement that can be attributed, in part, to the VAWA funding that supports the effective coordinated response strategies and law enforcement agencies and victim services providers in San Francisco;
WHEREAS, Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Secure Communities Program (S-Comm), which was activated in San Francisco in June 2010 and has led to 638 deportations as of August 2012, has resulted in fingerprints being automatically submitted to ICE for a civil immigrant background check at the point of arrest and thereby put domestic violence victims at risk of being held by ICE and deported;
WHEREAS, the San Francisco Congressional delegation including Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, House Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Representative Jackie Speir has demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing VAWA, other delegations must join their stalwart efforts for the legislation to gain passage;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women and Police Commission urges the U.S. Congress to pass the Violence Against Women Act by the end of calendar year 2012.
AYES: Commissioners Soo, Rodriguez, Gamez, Gulbengay, Prowda, Shorter
Commissioners Mazzucco, Marshall, Turman, Chan, Kingsley, Loftus
ABSENT: Commissioner DeJesus
RESOLUTION NO. 12-63
SAN FRANCISCO COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN AND THE SAN FRANCISCO POLICE COMMISSION RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE JUSTICE AND COURAGE PROJECT ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE POLICY REFORMS
BE IT KNOWN, that the Commission on the Status of Women and the Police Commission of the City and County of San Francisco hereby issue and authorize the execution by the subscribing Commissioners, of the following resolution:
WHEREAS, in October 2000, Claire Joyce Tempongko, a young mother of two, tragically lost her life to domestic violence in a case that exposed critical gaps in San Francisco’s response to this lethal crime, but also led to concrete policy reforms that operate to save the lives of countless women today; and, in response to the Tempongko case, the Commission on the Status of Women released the Justice & Courage Report: A Blueprint for San Francisco’s Response to Domestic Violence which recommended dozens of policy reforms by department; and convened a Justice & Courage Oversight Panel composed of community advocates to oversee implementation of these recommendations; and,
WHEREAS, over the course of the past decade, the Panel has collaborated with leaders from all criminal justice agencies to accomplish the following reforms, among numerous others:
• Eliminate backlog of criminal stay-away orders from Police and Court data systems (2003)
• Supported assignment of a full-time investigator for misdemeanor domestic violence cases at the District Attorney’s Office (2003).
• Created new 911 codes for domestic violence, and stalking (2003, 2008).
• Developed domestic violence protocols at the Police Department, Emergency Management Department, and the Sheriff’s Department (2005).
• Trained 435 criminal justice personnel in a victim-centered response to domestic violence as part of the “Domestic Violence Response Cross-Training Institute” (2007-2008).
• Supported the development of a bench book for new judges assigned to the Domestic Violence Court (2009).
• Trained 112 first responders to domestic violence in language fluency in Cantonese and Spanish as part of the “Bridges to Freedom Training Program” (2010).
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women and Police Commission, on the occasion of the 10 year anniversary of the Justice & Courage Project, hereby recognize all of the Project’s participants who have, collectively, contributed to fundamental changes to the criminal justice system to better serve the needs of domestic violence survivors and their families.
AYES: Commissioners Soo, Rodriguez, Gamez, Gulbengay, Prowda, Shorter
Commissioners Mazzucco, Marshall, Turman, Chan, Kingsley, Loftus
ABSENT: Commissioner DeJesus
SAN FRANCISCO’S RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC & FAMILY VIOLENCE
- 2011 Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco
Ms. Beverly Upton addressed the Commissions and thanked the Commissions for having this meeting.
Ms. Kathy Baxter, SF Child Abuse Council, addressed the Commissions and talked about family violence in San Francisco.
Ms. Talitha Guinn, Institute on Aging, addressed the Commissions in regards to elder abuse.
They went on to talk about the 2011 Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco.
Ms. Baxter talked about child abuse cases and tracking of child abusers. She went on to commend Paul Henderson for his work with the Child Abuse Intervention Program.
Ms. Upton went on to talk about findings in domestic violence.
Ms. Guinn talked about findings in elder abuse.
They went on to talk about the council’s recommendations:
- Expand data collection
- Conduct joint trainings for 911 dispatchers
- Develop a family violence factsheet
- Develop a joint outreach campaign
- Continue support of a multidisciplinary response to family violence
- Create a victim/survivor program
- Provide counseling to youth
- Domestic Violence Prosecution Rates
Christina Berry, District Attorney’s Office talked about what the district attorney’s office is doing in regards to domestic violence. She went on to talk about the responsibilities and duties of the unit. One of the concerns is staffing and a need for dedicated support staff.
Jean Rowland, District Attorney’s Office, talk about victim-attorney trust and the resources needed to continue to prosecute DV cases.
- Update on JUSTIS and the Domestic Violence Query & Reporting Module
Ms. Linda Young, City Administrator, presented the report on the JUSTIS Program and Project. JUSTIS is designed to replace the old CABLE system.
- Report from the SFPD Working Group on Language Access
Samara Marion, OCC, talked about the Language Access Program as it relates to domestic violence.
Deputy Chief Mike Biel spoke in regards to language access and introduced Officer Eric Chiang who is the liaison officer to language access.
Lisa Hoff, DEM, spoke in regards to the current 911 system upgrade.
Arti spoke in regards to language access as a safety issue and recommended that language lines should have training is cultural competency.
- San Francisco Police Department Special Victims Unit (SVU)
Chief Suhr addressed the Commissions and spoke in regards to the Special Victims Unit. The Chief then went on to introduce Captain Denise Flaherty, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit.
Captain Flaherty then went on to talk about the Special Victims Unit and how it came to be.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None
ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Mazzucco thanked everyone for having this meeting and went on to say that this City and this County takes domestic violence very seriously.
Commissioner Soo thanked the Commission for having this meeting and thanked the Department for their work with the individual communities and organizations.
Commissioner Gulbengay asked that the meeting be adjourned in memory of her mother-in-law who is also the mother of a police officer.
Commissioner Soo expressed her condolences to the family of Mike Nevin.
Commissioner Mazzucco asked that the meeting also adjourned in memory of Inspector Nevin, Officers Cahill, Welsh, and Westbrook.
Motion by Commissioner Chan, second by Commissioner Shorter. Approved 12-0.
Thereafter, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
__________________________________________
Inspector John Monroe
Secretary
San Francisco Police Commission
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