26-077 Department General Order 5.20 "Language Access Services" Update Packet #137

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.

26-077
Published: 
Expire: 

The purpose of this directive is to announce the revision of Department General Order 5.20, Language Access Services, adopted by the Police Commission on July 8, 2026. The Police Commission agreed to a 30-business day implementation period and therefore, members will be held accountable for this policy starting August 19, 2026.

The updates in this policy include, but are not limited to the following:

  1. Reduced from 6 pages to 5 pages.
  2. Ability to use Non-Certified Bilingual Members in certain circumstances. 
  3. Members should now consider both the primary and the preferred language for interpretation needs.
  4. Clarified the distinction between criminal and non-criminal interactions.

Department General Order update packet #137 is attached to this Notice and is available to members on the PowerDMS site.

/s/
DERRICK J. LEW
Chief of Police