Policy Text
San Francisco Police Department 5.16
GENERAL ORDER Rev. 09/ 06/23
Eff. 01/ 19/24
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Search Warrants
5.16.01 PURPOSE
This order establishes policies and procedures for the preparation, review, service, and
return of search warrants. The purpose of the policy is to ensure all search warrants comply with the Fourth Amendment and statutory requirements, safeguard peace officer
and public safety, and promote public trust.
5.16.02 POLICY
A. Under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution, individuals are granted protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The Fourth Amendment states, “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no
Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Members shall comply with all constitutional and statutory requirements when obtaining,
executing, and returning search warrants.
B. The term “members,” used throughout this Department General Order, refers to sworn
members of the Department.
C. Absent specific exceptions to the requirement for a warrant, searches shall be conducted
under the authority of a duly issued search warrant. Where doubt is present about whether
an exception to the requirement of a warrant exists, members should secure the person, place, or thing to be searched and seek a search warrant. Probable cause is required to obtain a search warrant.
5.16.03 SEARCH WARRANT PREP ARATION AND REVIEW
Members seeking search warrants may, and are encouraged to, draft their own search warrant
affidavits . If the member does not have any training in search warrant preparation, a Lieutenant
shall designate a member with experience and training in drafting search warrants to assist the
member with drafting search warrant affidavits .
A. Members shall act in good faith and be truthful when writing affidavits and shall sign the affidavit under oath and penalty of perjury. A member acts in good faith when that member
exercises reasonable diligence in ensuring the affidavit is accurate and contains no material omissions or misstatements. Truthfulness is evaluated based on what the affiant knew at the
time the affidavit is signed. A good faith mistake in preparing the affidavit is not untruthfulness.
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Rev. 09/ 06/23
Eff. 01/ 19/24
B. When writing affidavits, members shall include a statement of probable cause describing the
offense, a detailed description of the person, place, or thing to be searched, the specific items
sought to be seized, request and justification for special procedures, and any other legal
requirements.
C. Members shall include known exculpatory information and information members would
reasonably believe could affect the probable cause determination by a magistrate. (See DGO
2.01 General Rules of Conduct)
The following are some examples of information that could affect the probable cause of a
search warrant:
• Bias i nformation impacting the credibility of a witness, victim, or informant.
• Information that an informant received any benefit, consideration, or compensation.
• Witness or victim statements that are contrary to information in the affidavit.
• Existence of physical evidence or scientific testing that contradicts witness identifications
or descriptions of events.
• Witness identifications or lack of identifications of a suspect, vehicle, or property.
• Evidence pointing to a perpetrator other than a suspect identified by the Affiant.
• Inclusion on a Brady list.
• Information concerning when the Affiant received information or when events occurred.
D. All applications for search warrants authored by an Officer require the approval of a
supervising Sergeant.
E. All applications for premises search warrants shall be reviewed and approved by the
member’s direct supervisor and the appropriate Investigations Bureau Lieutenant or Patrol Lieutenant. Supervisors must thoroughly review and assess the search warrant, affidavit, and
supporting documents for appropriateness, legality, and conformance with San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) policy. The purpose of supervisory review is to:
• Ensure probable cause has been established and supported by specific facts.
• Ensure appropriate procedures were utilized to verify the target location.
• Ensure information is consistent and detailed including a description of the person, place
or thing to be searched, and the specific items sought to be seized.
1. If the Lieutenant is unavailable to meet in person to review and approve the warrant and/or there are exigent circumstances and/or instances where a delay would cause the
evidence to be destroyed or lost, the Lieutenant may review the facts of the warrant by
phone or video conference and give verbal approval.
2. The name of the approving Lieutenant shall be documented in the search warrant service
incident report or the Chronological of Investigation.
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