To ensure the SFDA’s speedy receipt of public records requests, requests can be emailed to sfda.publicrecords@sfgov.org. No specific form is required, and legal citations are not necessary.
The SFDA responds to all requests for public records as promptly as reasonably possible, and provides responsive records, if any, as soon as possible after they are available.
Per California Gov. Code § 7922.535, SFDA is allowed 10 calendar days to respond to a public records request. In some cases, SFDA may extend its time to respond by an additional 14 calendar days. If SFDA extends the time to respond, the department will notify the requesting party in writing within the initial 10-day response period of the reason(s) for the extension and the estimated date of response.
The San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance provides an additional procedure called an “immediate disclosure request” (“IDR”). The requester must comply with the Sunshine Ordinance’s provisions to properly submit an IDR. The SFDA must respond to IDRs within 24 hours after receipt of the request. In appropriate cases, the timeframe to provide a response may be extended by 14 days.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT SFDA RECORDS
Many categories of records held by the SFDA are sensitive, containing private and personal information of defendants, victims, witnesses, and employees. When making a public records request to the SFDA’s Office, please be aware that various statutes and court orders may limit the office’s ability to disclose records. Some of the laws imposing a limitation on disclosure carry criminal penalties for a violation of those laws. Below are a list of common exemptions that impact SFDA decisions on record disclosures.
DATA LIMITATIONS AND VERIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS
Data published by or produced by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office (SFDA), whether through online reporting or in response to California Public Records Act requests, may be subject to limitations in completeness, consistency, classification, and comparability over time. These datasets should not be used for quantitative analysis or relied upon to draw substantive conclusions without independent verification of the underlying case-level information.
Data collection practices, reporting standards, and classification schemes may have changed over time. For example, race and ethnicity data produced by our office originates in part from the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office, in part with SFDA data; neither are subject to uniform standards or systematic verification. Additionally, certain data elements may not have been collected, recorded, or retained consistently across all cases or reporting periods, particularly for historical records prior to 2011.
Accordingly, apparent trends, differences, or gaps in the data may reflect changes in collection methodology, classification practices, or data availability rather than actual changes in case characteristics or outcomes. The absence of a recorded data point should not be interpreted as evidence that the underlying point was absent.
Any dataset previously produced by SFDA should be independently validated against the corresponding case number and underlying case-specific records before being used for research, statistical analysis, reporting, or other purposes requiring accurate characterization of individual cases or aggregate trends. Users should assess data completeness, consistency, and methodological comparability across relevant time periods and document any assumptions, exclusions, or limitations affecting their analyses.
PUBLISHED DATA:
Data Dashboards: https://sfdistrictattorney.org/policy/data-dashboards/#incidents-arrests-prosecutions
CASE LEVEL DATA:
Actions Taken on Arrests Presented
Case Resolutions
https://data.sfgov.org/Public-Safety/District-Attorney-Case-Resolutions/ynfy-z5kt/about_data
Cases Prosecuted
https://data.sfgov.org/Public-Safety/District-Attorney-Cases-Prosecuted/dcjk-vw8q/about_data
EXEMPTIONS THAT MAY APPLY TO SFDA RECORDS (THIS IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE LIST)
• Attorney work product. Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 2018.030
• Discussions of individual defendant immigration consequences. Evid. Code § 351.2-.4
• Records related to juvenile cases. Welf. & Inst. Code § 827(b)(1).
• Records shared between government agencies (Official Information Privilege). Evid. Code § 1040.
• Investigatory records. Gov. Code § 7923.600.
• Summary criminal history information. Pen. Code § 13300 et seq.
• Police Officer Personnel Records. Pen. Code § 832.7.
• Records sealed by the court.
• Private records, privileged materials, and other records protected by law from disclosure. Gov. Code §§ 7927.700 – 7927.705.
• Constitutional Right of Privacy. Art. 1, § 1.