Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced Wednesday that San Diego Police Department officials are developing a new de-escalation policy, which a department spokesman said should be implemented by next week.

The Police Department currently trains its officers in de-escalation techniques and has language addressing the approach — emphasizing that officers do all they can to avoid a physical confrontation — in its use-of-force procedure. But the new standalone policy “will be more robust,” Faulconer said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference.

Faulconer said the new policy will give “officers clear rules of the road on how to safely control a situation, and resolve it, with lower levels of force.”