(a) Establishment of Fund. The San Francisco Homicide Reward Fund (the "Fund") is established as a category six fund to receive any monies appropriated or donated for the purpose of providing rewards as set forth in this Section 10.100-306. Donations to the Fund are deemed approved for acceptance and expenditure.
(b) Use of Fund. Monies in the fund shall be used exclusively by the Chief of Police in the following manner:
(1) The Chief of Police may pay a reward to any person or persons providing information that leads, in the judgment of the Chief after consultation with the District Attorney, to the arrest and conviction of a person for the crimes of murder (Cal. Penal Code Sec. 187, as amended, or any successor legislation) or manslaughter (Cal. Penal Code Sec. 192, as amended, or any successor legislation) committed within the City. If more than one claimant is eligible for a reward under this Section, the Chief of Police may divide the reward in a manner the Chief deems appropriate, but the total reward in connection with a single incident, whether made to one person or divided among several persons, may not exceed $250,000.
(2) A person claiming a reward from the Fund may not have participated in the planning, commission, or concealment of the crime, and the information provided by the person must have been unknown to the Police Department or the District Attorney at the time it was provided.
(3) The Chief of Police shall pay a reward from the Fund only where the Chief determines, in his or her judgment, that: (A) the Police Department has exhausted all investigative leads; and (B) assistance from the public and a reward are necessary to achieve an arrest and conviction for the crime.
(4) Rewards are entirely in the Chief of Police's discretion and there is in no circumstance a right to an award. The amount of the reward rests in the discretion of the Chief and shall be based on, among other considerations, the nature of the crime, the length and difficulty of the investigation and prosecution, and the usefulness of the information furnished by the person claiming the reward.
(5) For the purposes of this Section 10.100-306, "conviction" shall mean a finding of guilty following a trial, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere by plea bargaining whether or not the guilty plea or nolo contendere plea is entered for violation of Penal Code Sections 187 or 192.
(c) Administration of Fund.
(1) Any reference to the Chief of Police in this Section 10.100-306 shall include the Chief's designee.
(2) Any individual reward of $100,000 or more shall require Board of Supervisors approval by resolution.
(3) The Chief of Police shall submit an annual written report to the Board of Supervisors and the Controller within the first two weeks of July showing donations received, the nature and amount of such donations, and the disposition thereof, together with a description of the individual rewards paid from the Fund.
(4) To the extent permitted by law, the Chief of Police may keep confidential information identifying individual reward recipients. This provision shall not be construed to require the Chief to disclose other information that by law may be kept confidential.
