26-119 SFPD Vehicle Impounds: Investigative Holds

The purpose of this Department Notice is to establish procedures to ensure vehicles on investigative holds can be released promptly. It is the goal of the San Francisco Police Department for towed vehicles to be processed and holds lifted within 15 days from the date of tow. No vehicle may be held past 60 days from the date of tow, barring exceptional circumstances, and a request for extension submitted through the assigned Bureau’s chain of command has been approved.

1. Exceptional circumstances permitting a hold past 60 days are limited to:
   1. SFPD’s Crime Scene Investigations unit has not yet completed the analysis requested on SFPD 64C, “Crime Scene Investigations Vehicle Processing Request”; or
   2. SFPD’s Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) has not yet completed their requested analysis/analyses on SFPD 633, “Investigative Assistance Request Form”; or
   3. A court order commands a longer hold; or
   4. A search warrant commanded seizure of the vehicle (not search of its contents but seizure, thus tow, of the vehicle) and a further court order that SFPD may release the seized vehicle from SFPD’s custody and control has not yet been issued (see Pen. Code § 1536).
2. Upon clearing/resolving any exceptional circumstance(s) requiring a hold past 60 days, the hold should be lifted by the investigator immediately and, at the latest, within 72 hours.
3. The following are NOT exceptional circumstances and will NOT support an extension beyond 60 days:
   1. That the assigned investigator is away from work/on leave/unavailable;
   2. That the investigation or prosecution is open and/or ongoing;
   3. That the vehicle was an instrumentality of the crime;
   4. That the assigned investigator, DA, or both want to hold the vehicle for potential further evidence and/or possible use during trial; or

   5. That the assigned DA or defense counsel wants to inspect the vehicle.

      The focus is SFPD’s investigation of the vehicle. If SFPD has completed its investigation of the vehicle, unless court-ordered to the contrary, lift the hold.

4. DGO 9.06.03(M)(2) states that a hold must be lifted by the investigating unit prior to release and the STOP window handles the release. Once SFPD’s police investigative role is completed, and STOP has processed the vehicle release, the determination, collection and/or disbursement of fees, waivers, reimbursements, etc.—rests with the Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) as provided in San Francisco Transportation Code section 305.
5. This Department Notice takes effect on the date of issuance and governs these specific investigative hold procedures that comply with DGO 9.06 from that date forward. This Department Notice does not apply to vehicle holds imposed or in existence prior to the date of issuance.

Procedures

1. Procedures for Investigators, Assigning Officers, and OIC’s of Investigative Units with Vehicle Hold Responsibilities:

   Please refer to the attached SFPD 634 “Impounded Vehicle Investigative Hold Decision Checklist” for guidelines and consider putting into the investigative case file to manage due dates.

2. Lifting A Vehicle Hold

   To request a vehicle hold lifted, regardless of the length of the hold, the assigning officer or designee (unassigned cases), or the assigned investigator (assigned cases) should do the following which ends the assigning officer’s/investigator’s control over the vehicle:

   1. Notify the registered owner that the hold release is pending.
   2. Complete SFPD 425 (Request to Lift Vehicle Hold), and
   3. Submit the completed SFPD 425 to Vehicle Investigations/STOP via email to [Redacted]. Note in the email whether the “owner or person in lawful possession of the vehicle is chargeable with violation of any law relating to the towing and storage of the vehicle” (SF Transportation Code §305(c)(1)).

3. Vehicle Investigations/STOP's Responsibilities

   Upon receiving a “Request to Lift Vehicle Hold” form (SFPD 425) from the assigning officer/assigned investigator via email, STOP will:

   1. Lift the investigative hold on the vehicle;
   2. Notify, if not completed, the registered owner of the vehicle that the SFPD has lifted its investigative hold on the vehicle;
   3. Conduct the necessary checks of the vehicle’s registration, the driver’s license of the owner/designee proposing to pick up the vehicle, and that person’s wants/warrants; and
   4. Convey the pertinent information from SFPD Form 425 regarding the tow, the duration of SFPD’s investigative work on the vehicle, and the duration of the hold to the SFMTA so that the SFMTA may make its determinations under San Francisco Transportation Code section 305 regarding the imposition, calculation, waiver, and/or reimbursement of tow, storage, and other impound fees.

Attachments:

• Updated Form - Request to Lift Vehicle Hold (SFPD 425) - Members shall immediately begin use of the revised SFPD 425 Form (Rev. 10/26) and recycle outdated forms.
• New Form - SFPD’s Major Accident Investigation Team (SFPD 633)
• New Form – Impounded Vehicle Investigative Hold Checklist (SFPD 634)

/s/
DERRICK J. LEW
Chief of Police