26-047 Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK)

Department Notice

San Francisco Police Department

This document is not an official representation of the published policy. To access the official signed policy, please submit a request through our Public Records Request Portal.

26-047
Published: 
Expire: 

The Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) is a situational awareness tool used by the San Francisco Police Department (Department) for real-time asset management, operational execution, and decision making.

ATAK operates from an application platform on members’ Department-issued tablets, smartphones, or borrowed assets (dummy phones). For members not assigned to the units listed below, ATAK can be accessed on dummy phones during a larger scale special event or other designated incident. 

ATAK is currently used by the following groups in the following capacities:

  1. Field Operations Bureau, Citywide Plainclothes – The ATAK platform used by citywide plainclothes, as directed by the Officer-in-Charge. Citywide plainclothes use ATAK for various planned and unplanned operations within the city limits and in outside jurisdictions.
  2. Investigations Bureau – The ATAK platform used by members assigned to the Technical Services Unit (TSU), Real Time Investigations Center (RTIC), and investigative details conducting operations such as surveillance, warrant service, and drone as first responder (DFR).
  3. Special Operations Group (SOG) – The ATAK platform used by various units within the Special Operations Bureau (i.e., Tactical Unit, Specialist Team, and SOG members detailed to TSU). SOG uses ATAK for planned warrant services and unplanned critical incidents.
  4. Special Operations Bureau, Homeland Security Unit (HSU) – HSU occasionally uses ATAK during large special events to provide situational awareness to units in the field and at event command posts. HSU also manages logistical support of ATAK Department-wide.

ATAK is currently in use during the following events:

Planned Special Events

  1. A Planned Special Event or Operation can be any major event (July 4, New Year’s Eve, Pride, Super Bowl), street fair, parade, search warrant or arrest warrant service, planned surveillance, or street crime abatement operation.
  2. At the discretion of the Incident or Event Commander, the ATAK platform may be used for any planned special event or operation by any Bureau throughout the Department. The unit planning and managing the event or operation should note the use of ATAK in the Operations Order. Any logistical support needed to effectively use ATAK will need to be requested to HSU by email in advance (dummy phones, spare batteries, charging stations, etc.).

Unplanned Events

  1. An Unplanned Event can be any event that occurs spontaneously or without warning, including any event outlined in DGO 8.01, Critical Incidents.
  2. At the discretion of the Incident Commander, Weekend Captain, or Night Captain, ATAK may be used during any unplanned event. The authorizing member shall note in the incident’s CAD that ATAK is being activated to allow responding members to input their call sign or other unit designator into ATAK.

As ATAK is a real-time application, and the Department does not maintain a server for storage, no data is stored in any capacity on any Department-issued or dummy phone.

It is advised that members do not use their personal phones for any Department-related apps or duty functions.

Questions on ATAK can be directed to the Strategic Investigations Unit/RTIC.

/s/
DERRICK J. LEW
Chief of Police