In 2015, the BASF Board of Directors convened a taskforce on the criminal justice system, composed of prosecutors, defense attorneys, civil rights attorneys, law professors, the judiciary, members of law enforcement, and police oversight agencies.
The Criminal Justice Taskforce formed several subcommittees to examine current practices regarding the collection and retention of data in detentions/arrests, analysis of collected data, use and policies regarding body cameras, training regarding bias (including implicit bias), use of grand juries in police-involved shootings, civilian oversight, use of force, Taser© use/safety, and bail reform.
The taskforce meets monthly while the committee work is ongoing. Each committee has undertaken a comprehensive examination of best practices in each of the subject areas to provide reports grounded in research and supported by data and/or expert opinion. Below, we share some of our research, recommendations, and media coverage.
Research and Recommendations
- Taskforce Urges Progress on Body-Worn Camera Policy, 2020
- Taskforce Urges Placement of Proposed Amendment to City Charter Concerning Police Department Staffing Levels on November Ballot, 2020
- Taskforce Urges San Francisco Courts to Restore ‘Zero Bail’ As COVID-19 Cases in Jails Rise, 2020
- Letter to Mayor Breed, Recommending Steps for Police Reform, 2020
- BASF's recommendation against allowing electronic control weapons (formerly known as Tasers©), 2017
- BASF’s letter to the SF Police Commission regarding the Department of Police Accountability, 2017
- Taskforce letter to SFPD Acting Chief Toney Chaplin and SF Police Commission: Reports and recommendations on data collection and analysis, 2016
- Taskforce letter to SFPD Acting Chief Toney Chaplin and SF Police Commission: Recommendation against allowing Tasers© to be used in San Francisco at this time, 2016
- BASF letter of support for SB 1286 to Hon. Mark Leno, 2016
- Taskforce letter to the SF Police Commission regarding the use of body cameras, 2015
- BASF letter of support for SB 227 to Hon. Holly Mitchell, 2015
Select Media Coverage
- BASF Task Force Facilitates Police Reform, San Francisco Attorney Magazine, Fall 2020
- SF Police Commission approves sweeping new policy on community policing, Mission Local, 2020
- New body-worn camera measures pass — after 2.5 years of negotiation with SF police union, Mission Local, 2020
- City leaders pledge to reject SFPOA support, San Francisco Examiner, 2020
- Legal and medical experts urge SF courts to restore ‘zero bail’ as COVID-19 cases rise in SF jails, San Francisco Bay View, 2020
- Shaping Criminal Justice Reform Locally: BASF Focuses On Building Relationships While Fighting For Justice, San Francisco Attorney Magazine, Fall/Winter 2019
- Effort to require SFPD officers to hand out business cards to detainees has been yearslong affair, Mission Local, 2019
- When Tasers Fail, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, 2019
- San Mateo County weighs Taser use, San Mateo Daily Journal, 2019
- Police killing vulnerable people with Tasers, new research shows, RT, 2018
- Police Reform and Changing Police Culture Panel Discussion, 2017
- Not the time to arm San Francisco police with Tasers, San Francisco Chronicle, 2016
- Criminal Justice Task Force: Addressing Community-Relationship Issues in Policing, San Francisco Attorney Magazine, Spring 2016
