Policy Text
San Francisco Police Department 5.13
GENERAL ORDER Rev. 04/ 02/25
Eff. 06/ 05/25
Page 1 of 5
Diplomatic Immunity
5.13.01 P URPOSE
This order instructs officers on the nature of diplomatic immunity, and outlines procedures for dealing with criminal and traffic violations by diplomatic personnel.
5.13.02 POLICY
It is the policy of the San Francisco Police Department that foreign diplomatic
officers be accorded their respective privileges, rights and immunities as directed by international law and federal statute and be treated with courtesy and respect that befit their dis tinguished positions. At the same time, it is a well-established principle
of international law that, without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is their duty to respect local laws and regulations.
5.13.03 PROCEDURES
A. Criminal Violations - Diplomatic agents shall not be arrested and booked, but
may be physically detained when their actions involve a grave or felonious act
(e.g., DV, DUI, Fatal Collision, Assaults) .
1. Detentions shall be made with the minimum amount of physical restraint necessary under the circumstances.
2.
Members shall contact Special Investigations Division (SID ) or Department
Operations Center (DOC) immediately to notify a SID member for further assistance in contacting the Diplomatic Security Service Command Center (U.S. State Department) for confirmation of immunity and provide members with next steps.
B. Traffic Violations
1. Moving Violations - When a diplomatic agent, a member of their family, or a
qualified employee is stopped for a moving violation, other than driving under
the influence of drugs or alcohol (see below), the officer, upon being advised
by the driver that they have immunity, shall ascertain that the driver possesses the proper credentials.
a.
Properly identified foreign diplomatic officers, a member of the diplomatic officer’s family, or a qualified employee, all may be issued a citation, but shall not be required to sign the citation.
DGO 5.13
Rev. 04/02/25
Eff. 06/05/25
Page 2 of 5
i. Forward the citation to SID along with an incident report detailing the
circumstances of the traffic stop.
ii. Carefully note the identification information in the incident report.
2.
Parking Violations - Consular Corps license plates do not exempt the vehicle
from being cited for parking violations. However, it shall be the policy of this Department that vehicles bearing such plates will not be cited for parking violations within one block of consular premises or residences of foreign consular officers.
a.
Members observing any abuse of this policy shall prepare a memorandum to their commanding officer and forward a copy to SID for follow up investigation. The memorandum must outline the circumstances in full and include license plate number(s).
3.
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol - The primary consideration in this
type of incident shall be to see that the foreign diplomatic officer, a member of their family, or a qualified employee is not a danger to themselves or to the
public. a.
Based upon the circumstances, the following options, short of detention, are available:
i.
Have the person call someone to pick them up.
ii. Take the person home.
iii. Call a taxi for the person.
iv. Take the person to the district station in the district of occurrence to recover sufficiently to drive safely.
C. Reporting
1. In the event that a foreign diplomatic officer, a member of their family or a
qualified employee should become involved in any action taken by members
of this Department, SID and DOC shall be notified immediately, and an
incident report prepared detailing the circumstances.
2. When a detention occurs, SID and DOC must be notified by the investigating officer or their immediate supervisor. An investigation will be initiated by SID in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State and the F.B.I.
3. In the unlikely event that members are unable to timely contact SID, members
shall call the Diplomatic Security Service Command Center at (571) 345 -3146 for
confirmation of immunity and next steps.
DGO 5.13
Rev. 04/ 02/25
Eff. 06/ 05/25
Page 3 of 5
5.13.04 Term s & Definition s
A. Embassie s - The highest ranking foreign diplomatic office in this country is an
embassy. The majority of embassies are located in Washington, D.C. or in New
York, N.Y.
1. Diplomatic Officers - Foreign diplomatic officers assigned to embassies are
titled: Ambassador, Minister, Minister Counselor, Counselor, First Secretary,
Second Secretary, Third Secretary and Attaché. These persons are designated as “Diplomatic Agents” by the State Department. Diplomatic Officers have full immunity along with their family members.
2.
Employees - are either members of the administrative or technical staff at
embassies. These staff are accorded full personal inviolability and immunity from criminal jurisdiction but receive immunity from civil jurisdiction only in connection with the performance of t heir official duties (i.e., “functional
immunity”).
B. Consulate Offices - Branches of embassies located throughout the country are
consulate offices. Foreign diplomatic officers assigned to consulate offices are titled Consuls -General, Deputy Consuls -General, Consuls, and V ice Consuls.
Persons assigned to consulate offices are designated as career Consular Officers.
Consular Officers have only official acts or functional immunity in respect of
both criminal and civil matters . They may be arrested or detained pending trial
only if the offense is a felony and that arrest is made