Policy Text
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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4.23 Law Enforcement Facility Interview and Booking
4.23.6 Pre -arraignment Requirements (Buffin) (Issued: 2/19/20)
A. Background
Pursuant to the judgement on “Buffin,” effective midnight, February 20, 2020, the San
Francisco Sheriff’s Office will cease use of a felony and misdemeanor bail schedule for
pre-arraignment arrestees and the following will transpire:
1. For persons booked on an offense not enumerated in Penal Code § 1270 (a), who
are arrested without a warrant and who are otherwise eligible for pre -arraignment
own recognizance (OR) release under state law, San Francisco Sheriff’s
Department Pretrial staff will submit a Publ ic Safety Assessment (PSA) and
corresponding paperwork to a judicial officer for review and consideration of an
OR release. The judicial officer must render a decision within 18 hours of the
booking; otherwise, if there is no decision, the PSA recommendati on will be
followed.
2. A peace officer may request a 12 -hour extension to the 18 -hour time requirement,
for any of the following reasons:
a. There is reasonable cause to believe the subject will fail to appear in court
if released
b. The person poses a t hreat to the community
c. The peace officer expects that specific information, not yet provided, will
be delivered within the next 12 hours and will probably provide reasonable
cause to believe the person arrested may not appear at the arraignment
d. The peace officer expects that specific information, not yet provided, will
be delivered within the next 12 hours and will probably provide reasonable
cause to believe that the person arrested poses a threat to public safety.
B. San Francis co Sheriff’s Department Role
1. Under Buffin, San Francisco Sheriff’s Department pretrial staff (San Francisco
Pretrial) will be responsible for submitting PSA reports, criminal history
summaries, RAP contents and incidents reports to judicial officers for review in
pre-arraignment eligible cases. The materials for these cases must be submitted
within eight hours of booking for review and consideration of an OR release.
2. For pre -arraignment eligible cases, San Francisco Pretrial will make a courtesy call
to the agency involved in the arrest to alert them of the internal deadline to submit
the incident report for judicial review. They will also inquire if there is any reason
to believe a 12 -hour declaration for extension will be filed and, if so, provide th e
agency with a deadline for the declaration.
3. If the incident report is not received in time for judicial review:
a. San Francisco Pretrial will submit the PSA report and other associated
materials without the incident report, with notations on attempts to retrieve
the incident report and/or expected receipt of the incident report.
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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b. The judicial officer may make a decision on OR release in absence of the
incident report.
C. UCSF Police Department Role
To help preserve the balance between Buffin and p ublic safety:
1. UCSF Police Department officers involved in booking a person in the County Jail
for on -view felony or misdemeanor offenses shall submit a copy of the incident
report within eight hours of booking, by email to sfsd.pretrial@sfgov.org or fax to
415-431-3658.
2. If any sworn member of the Department believes an individual booked on an on -
view felony or misdemeanor offence will not appear at the arraignment if released
under OR or that he/she poses a threat to the community, the officer shall file for a
12-hour extension under Penal Code § 1269 (c) via email to SHF-LE-
Declaration@sfgov.org . The Declaration for Extension of Time form will be
available online at sfsheriff.com after February 22, 2020. (See Appendix 4.29 -A
for sample.)
3. If the in cident report will not be submitted by the deadline i mposed by San
Francisco Pretrial , a Declaration for Extension of Time form will be filed, as
appropriate.
4. San Francisco Pretrial staff may be contacted at 415 -522-7580.