Alameda County
Former Alameda County Prosecutor Named Inaugural San Francisco Inspector General
Former Alameda County prosecutor Terry Wiley had a 33-year career in Alameda before stepping into the new inspector general role. He had previously run for Alameda County District Attorney in 2022, but ultimately lost to current DA Pamela Price.
By Magaly Muñoz
Former Alameda County prosecutor Terry Wiley has been named the inaugural San Francisco inspector general who will oversee the city’s sheriff’s department and its two jails.
Wiley was sworn in at city hall on Wednesday morning in a ceremony held by the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board.
Xochitl Carrion, Vice President of the Oversight Board, explained the year-long recruitment process that extended nationally to find the best fit for the job.
They went out multiple times into the city to ask San Franciscans what they would want to see in an inspector general and how that person could help uplift the city values. Visits to the local jails were also conducted to ask those incarcerated what their living conditions were like and how the inspector could address the issues they were facing in the jails.
“October and November was the grind time for us. It was looking at all these applicants who came nationally and then determining who were the highly qualified, who were the best of the best, and we are lucky that Terry Wiley was in that pile,” Carrion said.
Wiley had a 33-year career in Alameda before stepping into the new inspector general role. He had previously run for Alameda County District Attorney in 2022, but ultimately lost to current DA Pamela Price.
In November 2020, the city voters passed Proposition D, Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board Charter Amendment, which was spearheaded by Supervisor Shamann Walton. The amendment was part of a national movement for justice reform and an effort to end decades of discrimination and unfair treatment within the sheriff’s department.
The Oversight Board was established to advise the Sheriff and the Board of Supervisors regarding the sheriff’s department operations, develop policy recommendations, including a use-of-force policy and comprehensive review process for all use-of-force and critical incidents, investigate the death of any individual in the custody of the Sheriff’s Department, review and investigate any complaints of non-criminal misconduct by employees and contractors of Sheriff’s Department and in-custody deaths, and more.
Wiley will oversee investigations and evaluate the work of the sheriff’s department, as well as checking in on jail conditions.
“It [the work] is going to be invaluable in addressing areas of concern for us and ways that we can improve our job. We want to identify those issues before they escalate, before they become a problem or concern or a lawsuit or anything else,” Sheriff Paul Miyamoto jokingly said to the crowd.
Several speakers during the ceremony spoke to the upstanding character Wiley has shown over his time working as a public servant, saying that he was the right man for the job.
Former Mayor of San Francisco Willie L. Brown spoke to congratulate Wiley and to administer the Oath of Office before he addressed the crowd as the new inspector.
Wiley expressed that the enthusiasm he has for the job knows no bounds and he’s committed to upholding the values that the city has held for so long
“Our office will stand on the pillars of accountability, open transparency, fairness, integrity and honesty. I firmly believe that accountability is the linchpin in maintaining the public’s trust and our criminal justice system and the sheriff’s office,” Wiley said.
He stated that key principles like objectivity, competence and accountability are what will guide the work and decisions made under his leadership. Especially those we have been historically disenfranchised, like people of color, women and the LGBTQ community.
“Our commitment is to create an environment where everyone is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” Wiley said.
