Policy Text
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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4.6 Patrol Operations
4.6.18 Arrest or Detention of Foreign Nationals (Revised: 7/18/18)
As the United States is party to the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Article 36, a
Treaty signed by the United States and 169 other countries, along with several bilateral
agreements and customary international law, officers are required to make consular notifications
after arresting or detaining a foreign national.
A. A foreign national is a person who is not a citizen of the United States. A person with
dual citizenship, U.S. and foreign, is not a foreign national.
B. For purposes of this order, “arrest/detain” means the actual taking of a person into
custody, in a lawful manner, or detaining them in excess of two hours. Arrest may be
either by actual restraint or by submission to detention. For purposes of this order,
“arrest” does not include field citation. It includes commitment under California W&I)
Code 5150.
C. When an officer arrests or detains a person for a criminal investigation, the officer may
inquire of the individual’s citizenship if the officer reasonably believes the person is a
foreign national.
D. Whenever a foreign national is arrested/detained, the arresting/detaining officer shall
advise the person of his/her right to have his/her government notified concerning the
arrest/detention. The foreign national then has the option to decide whether he/she wants
consular representatives notified of the arrest or detention, unless the foreign national is
from a "mandatory notification" country.
1. If the foreign national asks that their government be notified, the
arresting/detaining officer s hould do so as soon as possible by calling the nearest
consulate or embassy. A list of foreign diplomats, embassies and consulates in the
U.S. can be found at http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/dpl/ .
a. Whene ver a foreign national is booked into another agency’s jail facility,
the assigned UCPD officer continues to be responsible for completing the
notifications. The jail facility personnel should be informed of the
situation and status of notifications.
2. Under certain circumstances, foreign authorities must be notified of their
national's arrest/detention due to United States International Treaty obligations. In
the case of the following countries, notification of the consulate or embassy must
be made without delay, regardless of whether or not the arrestee wishes such
notification to be made. The following countries require mandatory notifications:
Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados,
Belarus, Belize, Brunei, Bu lgaria, China (not including Taiwan), Costa Rica,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Granada,
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kuwait,
Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Nigeria ,
Philippines, Poland (non -permanent residents only), Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts
and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Sierra
Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago,
Tunisia, Turkmenis tan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Zambia,
and Zimbabwe. Questions regarding countries requiring mandatory notification
should be directed to the Department of State as stated in section G.
E. Whenever a foreign student or scholar from UCSF is arrested, the arresting officer shall
immediately notify the International Students and Scholars Office at 415 -476-1773. They
should be notified any time a foreign student or scholar is in an in -custody situation.
After hours, a message should be left on their answering machine including officer name,
student/scholar name and case number. A corresponding email with the same information
shall be sent to the Director of the UCSF International Students and Scholars Office.
F. The arresting/detaining offic er shall notify the dispatcher of all notifications, and the
dispatcher shall make appropriate entries in the CAD case history. All notifications shall
be documented in the corresponding police report. The incident shall be documented in
the Supervisor’s L og with a copy routed to the FSD Captain.
G. Questions regarding law enforcement responsibilities to foreign nationals may be
addressed to the U.S. Department of State at 202 -647-4415 or 202 -647-1512 (24 hrs.).
H. Information regarding the immunities aff orded to foreign diplomatic officers and their
employees is found in General Orders 4.15.2(C), “Special Processing Requirements.”