Community Programs

The South San Francisco Police Department offers free Community Academy programs designed to help residents learn how the Police Department works, explore law enforcement as a career, and build trust with the officers who serve our community. 

Overview of Community Academy(PDF, 389KB)

Community Academy (Spring 2026)

The South San Francisco Police Department is hosting its next Community Academy.  This interactive annual 10-week long course is designed to educate our community about the many services and functions of the SSFPD.  The academy is free to any adults who live or work in South San Francisco.

• Learn why officers do what they do
• Discover if law enforcement is a career for you
• Become more familiar with our agency
• Build trust with those who protect and serve

Some of the topics include:

• Investigations
• Academy Training
• SWAT, K-9, & Drone Demonstrations
• Traffic Enforcement
• Community Relations
• Firearms Safety
• Use of Force Simulator
• And many more…

Classes will start soon! It will run from February 24, 2026 to May 5, 2026 (every Tuesday night from 6:00 – 9:00 pm) at the SSFPD Community Room.

Applications now open until February 2, 2026. Apply here.

For more information, contact Corporal Brian Blake at (650) 829-3931 or brian.blake@ssfca.gov.

[ Community Academy Flyer(PDF, 615KB)  ]

Join our mailing list to be the first to learn about enrollment and future class offerings.

Senior Police Academy (Spring 2026)

The Senior Police Academy is hosted by the South San Francisco Police Department at the Roberta Cerri Teglia Center providing a welcome, smaller-group program focused on topics that matter most to older adults for a total of seven weeks. 

• Learn how your Police Department works
• Ask questions in a comfortable setting
• Become more informed and confident
• Build trust and connections with officers
• Get to know the services available to you

Some of the topics include:

• Fraud/Scams
• First Aid
• SSFPD K-9 Unit
• Tour of our Police Station

Classes will run from February 25, 2026 to April 8, 2026 (every Wednesday from 1:00 – 2:00 pm) at the 3rd floor MUR of the Roberta Cerri Teglia Center at 601 Grand Ave.

Apply in person at the Roberta Cerri Teglia Center or by calling (650) 829-3820 or (650) 829-3816.

Spanish Community Academy (Fall 2026)

Would you like to know more about the Police Department that serves your community? Have you ever been curious about the Police Department and what it does? Or have you ever asked yourself what your rights as a resident are in South San Francisco. Perhaps you have been the victim of a crime and did not know what your rights were or how to report it.

Here is your chance to get an inside look at the South San Francisco Police Department, how it functions, how it trains its officers, what its values are, and what it offers the citizens of our community.

If you work or live in South San Francisco and are interested, then we would like you to attend our Spanish Community Academy free of charge!

Each class teaches a different aspect of police work that ranges from the hiring of officers, to SWAT team and K-9 team demonstrations, to firearms training in our own shooting range and a tour of our new Police Department. Each class is unique, packed with information, and a lot of fun!

Requirements: Work or live in South San Francisco (some exceptions may apply), be 18 years or older, free of any felony convictions, miss no more than two classes, and have an interest in learning!

Classes are in Spanish and are limited to 20 people – Please contact Corporal Diana Quintero at diana.quintero@ssfca.gov or (650) 829-7286 or contact Communications Supervisor Janet Quintero-Isla at janet.quintero@ssfca.gov or (650) 829-3931 for further information.

Classes are hosted in the Community Room at the South San Francisco Police Department, located at 1 Chestnut Avenue in South San Francisco. Dates for Fall 2026 will be announced soon.

• (PDF, 3MB)Spanish Community Academy Flyer(PDF, 1MB)
• Join our mailing list to be the first to learn about enrollment and future class offerings

La Academia Comunidad (Otono 2026)

¿Le gustaría saber más sobre el Departamento de Policía que sirve a su comunidad? ¿Alguna vez ha sentido curiosidad por el Departamento de Policía y lo que hace? ¿Alguna vez te has preguntado por qué la policía hace las cosas como las hace? ¿O alguna vez te has preguntado cuáles son tus derechos como residente de esta ciudad?

Esta es su oportunidad de conocer por dentro el Departamento de Policía de South San Francisco, cómo funciona, cómo capacita a sus oficiales, cuáles son sus valores y qué ofrece a los ciudadanos de nuestra comunidad.

Ven y únete a nosotros para otra sesión de La Academia De La Comunidad para que podamos responder a estas y muchas otras preguntas! Las clases son gratis.

La academia comienza el 18 de Septiembre de 2025 y se llevará a cabo todos los Jueves de 6:30 p.m. a 9:00 p.m. hasta el 20 de Noviembre de 2025 y tendrá lugar en el Departamento de Policía, 1 Chestnut Avenida en Sur San Francisco.

Venga y conosca a los oficiales que trabajan en nuestra comunidad.

Las clases serán en español. El tamaño de la clase estará limitado a 20 personas. si tiene más preguntas por favor comuníquese con el Cabo Diana Quintero (650) 829-7286 o Supervisa del 911 Janet Quintero-Isla (650) 877-8674.

Las fechas del otoño de 2026 se anunciarán pronto.

• Spanish Community Academy Flyer(PDF, 1MB)
• Únase a nuestra lista de correo para ser el primero en conocer las inscripciones y las futuras ofertas de clases

   

The South San Francisco Police Department strives to provide the best type of law enforcement service possible. We invite your suggestions for methods of improving police services through constructive criticism of Department procedures, your comments indicating dissatisfaction with the manner of performance, or information concerning commendable actions by employees of the Department.

Each report received will be investigated and appropriate action taken. Complaints against Department personnel will be handled in a prompt and unbiased manner. Your suggestions about improved procedures will be investigated, evaluated, and implemented when feasible to do so. Any commendation of the actions of our personnel will result in appropriate recognition.

If you wish to make a report in person, please come to the Police Department. You will be received courteously and thorough consideration will be given to your report. If you wish to register your report, a citizen report form will be provided to you for completion; and you may then mail in the form to the Department.

Please provide as much information as possible. Give your name and address so that we may contact you for further information, if needed. Every report will receive the personal attention of the Chief of Police.

It is important to note that you have a right to make a complaint against a police officer for any improper police conduct. California law requires that all police agencies have a procedure to investigate citizens' complaints. You have a right to a written description of this procedure. Citizen complaints and any reports or findings relating to complaints, regardless of the disposition, must be retained by this agency for at least five years.

It is against the law to make a complaint that you know to be false. If you make a complaint against an officer knowing that it is false, you can be prosecuted on a misdemeanor charge.

The South San Francisco Police Department would like you to know about the approach we are taking in handling problems within the City - "Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving" or "COPPS." Community oriented policing in itself has been around for years and is not so much a program as it is a philosophy or a frame of mind.

The Police Chief and his staff have dedicated a great deal of time and effort to this approach which emphasizes community involvement and the use of non-traditional methods for solving problems on the streets, in our businesses, and in our neighborhoods and schools.

All Police Department employees are taking the community policing approach with them to the streets in an effort to minimize crime and bring the members of the community into the problem-solving picture. The face of police work has slowly changed over the years and police officers can no longer be viewed only as the enforcers of the law. We are making the transition to being facilitators of community involvement as part of a police/citizen team; working together to achieve a safe and desirable community in which to work and live.

In the past, handling crime suppression was performed by meeting with the complainant, obtaining the necessary information, and trying to catch the responsible. Community resources were not normally used in the process. Often times, the problem would resurface and another officer would respond to the call and handle it much the same way. Community skepticism and mistrust would sometimes enter the picture at this point when this "traditional" method of enforcement was ineffective.

With the community policing mindset, officers have greater latitude in handling problems that occur on their assigned beats. More creative solutions - including involving the community as our eyes and ears - have helped to reduce repeat crimes and on-going problems in certain situations. Officers are also working together and communicating with their beat counterparts to make sure that problems which occur on one shift are not happening at another time.

Patrol officers have also gone to the public to stop community blight from overtaking certain areas. Property owners - from apartment buildings to shopping centers - have been called upon to keep their property in good condition. The City's Code Enforcement Officers get involved if there is continued non-compliance.

Are you between 15-21 years old and looking to serve your community in a unique way? Are you curious about the various careers in police work and eager to grow your leadership skills? Are you thinking about building a college resume and earning scholarship opportunities? If so, the South San Francisco Police Explorer Cadets may be for you!

Some duties that Explorer Cadets perform are:

• Working with the community in crime prevention
• Assisting our Police Records and Services divisions
• Engaging with local younger children as role models
• Promoting our various safety programs
• Helping enforce parking and traffic control at events
• Riding along with tenured mentor officers on patrol

Our Explorer Cadets are able to learn about different jobs in law enforcement while proudly helping their local community and gaining new friends. The program teaches leadership skills, team-work, discipline, the importance of civil-service, and encourages positive relations between police and local youth. Most importantly, we help provide skills that young people will utilize throughout their lives.

Some basic requirements needed to apply are;

• Must either live or attend school in South San Francisco
• Must maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA (“C” average)
• Must be a U.S. citizen or in the process of becoming a naturalized citizen
• Successfully complete an Oral-Board Interview and pass a Background Investigation

All new Explorer Cadets are required to attend an in-depth Explorer Academy. This academy takes place over nine consecutive Sundays during the Spring and Fall semesters and is hosted by multiple police agencies around San Mateo County. There, Explorer Cadets will learn about; the law, how to work with others, noble values, narcotics, firearms safety, first-aid, and numerous other topics.

If this sounds like a program for you, please apply anytime with the South San Francisco Police Department. Or for more information, call or e-mail the School Liaison Officer at (650) 829-3924 or SLO@ssfca.gov.

• Explorer Cadets Application Form(PDF, 265KB)

Also be sure to follow our Explorer Cadets on Instagram! @ssfpd.explorer.cadets #Post850

The Police Department recommends using good "Neighborhood Watch" strategies:

• Make your rear yard as inaccessible as possible to strangers
• Familiarize yourself with people and vehicles that belong in your neighborhood, and when school should be in session.
• Report all suspicious/loitering persons and suspicious vehicles to the 9-1-1 emergency number.
• Communicate with your trusted neighbors about the hours your family works, trips you're taking and who should be at home. When an extended trip is taken, gather each others mail and newspapers
• Upgrade your window and door locks, use security lighting
• Consider a reliable home alarm system

• Guide to Starting and Growing a Neighborhood Watch Program

The “Spring Youth Academy” is an afterschool program tailored specifically for the 5th grade children in our community who are preparing for middle school. The program is a condensed academy version with objectives similar to our “Summer Youth Police Academy” and is held once a week for 6-8 weeks during afterschool hours (2:30PM – 4PM). All classes are held at the police department and taught by working police officers and other members of the police department.

Some of the topics and presentations offered in the program include:

• Detectives

• Crime Scene Evidence

• Motorcycle Unit

• SWAT, K9 & Drone Demo’s

• And much more!!

5th grade students currently enrolled into their respective afterschool programs (ASRP or REAL) via the South San Francisco Parks & Recreation Department and/or Boys & Girls Club can apply through their site program coordinators. If you’d like more information on enrollment into those afterschool programs, please contact Department of Parks & Recreation at (650) 875-6900 or visit Child Care for more information. 

The “Summer Youth Academy” is a weeklong summer-camp style program (9AM  - 4PM) and is intended for children between the ages of 12 - 14 in our community. It has been modeled after the department’s annual “Community Academy” program for adults.

The program is designed to build and strengthen relationships between middle-school aged children in the community and the members of the Police Department. This is accomplished by educating the children about the different functions of the police department and the many important roles of police officers within the community.

Some of the topics and presentations covered in the program include:

• The Police Officer Hiring Process

• Criminal Investigations

• Crime Scene Processing and Evidence Collection

• SWAT, K9’s, Motorcycles, & Drone Units

• Hostage and Crisis Negotiations

• Traffic Enforcement and Collision Investigations

• Gang Resistance and Safe Decisions 

• Graduation BBQ with Games vs. Officers 

• And Much, Much More!!

The Youth Academy program will give adolescence an opportunity to see inside the police department and gain a new insight into law enforcement. The program also allows for members of the police department to gain a better understanding of what it is to be a middle school student growing up in South San Francisco. The ultimate goal of the program is to build a strong foundational relationship between the police department and the children of our community.

All classes are taught by working police officers and other members of the police department. At the end of the program, students will participate in a graduation ceremony and will receive a commemorative T-shirt and a certificate awarded by the Chief of Police.

Registration and applications for the Summer Youth Academy are processed by the South San Francisco Parks & Recreation Department and can be found in their catalog of available camps and programs. For more information visit  Parks and Recreation.