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Pursuant to the final judgment in Marvel, et al. v. State of California, et al., Sacramento County Superior Ct., Case No. 24CV000737, the California Department of Justice and its agents, employees and representatives are permanently enjoined from enforcing this subdivision and permanently enjoined from requiring any individual to provide the “gender of officer” as defined in this subdivision.
Final Rulemaking Documents:
In accordance with the permanent injunction issued by the Sacramento County Superior Court in Marvel, et al. v. State of California, et al., Case No. 24CV000737, the California Department of Justice is no longer enforcing section 999.226(a)(23) of Title 11 of the California Code of Regulations, a regulation under the Racial Identity and Profiling Act of 2015 (RIPA) that previously required collection of “gender of officer” data. Accordingly, agencies and individuals subject to RIPA are no longer required to provide “gender of officer” data, as defined in section 999.226(a)(23) of Title 11 of the California Code of Regulations, on RIPA disclosures. The Department has permanently deleted all “gender of officer” data received to date.
Assembly Bill 953, the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015 (RIPA), among other things, enacted Government Code section 12525.5, which requires state and local law enforcement agencies, as specified, to collect data regarding stops of individuals and to report this data to the California Department of Justice. RIPA also requires the Attorney General to issue regulations for the collection and reporting of this stop data. (Gov. Code, § 12525.5, subd. (e).) After extensive consultation with stakeholders, the final regulations were filed with the Secretary of State on November 7, 2017, and became effective on November 7, 2017. The regulations have since been updated in 2022 and 2023. The existing text of the regulations and the categories of information that officers must collect are below:
The text of the regulations can be found here. The regulations are divided up into six categories:
The regulations require officers to collect several categories of information, known as "data elements," for each stop. Those data elements are:
On September 29, 2022, the Governor signed into law Assembly Bill 2773, which requires that law enforcement agencies collect a new category of information (called a “data element”) under RIPA. Beginning on January 1, 2024, all law enforcement agencies must report to the DOJ “[t]he reason given to the person stopped at the time of the stop.” (Gov. Code, § 12525.5, subd. (b)(3).) As a result of this statutory mandate to collect this data, the Department has determined that amendments to the regulations will need to be promulgated to comply with RIPA’s requirement that DOJ promulgate regulations that have “standards, definitions, and technical specifications to ensure uniform reporting practices across all reporting agencies.” (Gov. Code, § 12525.5, subd. (e).) CRES also proposes additional amendments during this rulemaking process.
Final Amended Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) Regulations:>
On October 11, 2023, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved amendments to the Department’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act regulations.
Final Rulemaking Documents
Second Modifications in Response to Commentary (Second 15-day Comment Period) From July 14, 2023 to July 31, 2023
Modifications in Response to Commentary (15-day Comment Period) From May 11, 2023 to May 26, 2023
Initial Rulemaking Documents (45-day Comment Period) From March 10, 2023 to April 25, 2023:
All members of the public are invited to submit a comment on the proposed regulations, and may do so in one of the ways outlined below:
A public hearing will take place on the following day:
Thursday, April 27, 2023
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. PST
Via Microsoft Teams video and telephone conference ONLY. The public is encouraged to join the hearing at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting?rtc=1 or using the “Join Meeting” link below. This will provide access to the meeting video and audio for the hearing. We recommend that you log in 5-10 minutes before the start of the meeting to allow sufficient time to set up your audio/video, and to download the Teams application, if desired.
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 245 792 127 664
Passcode: mTxCJB
(Join from computer)
A phone dial-in option is also be available.
Dial (916) 382-0506 Phone Conference ID: 159 580 567#
We encourage you to disseminate this information broadly and to alert other interested stakeholders. Please contact Kendal Micklethwaite with any questions.
Kendal Micklethwaite
Deputy Attorney General
Civil Rights Enforcement Section
California Department of Justice
1515 Clay Street, Suite 2000
Oakland, CA 94612
Office (415) 238-4788
Kendal.Micklethwaite@doj.ca.gov
Final Amended Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) Regulations:
On August 5, 2022, the Office of Administrative Law approved amendments to the Department’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act regulations which were first enacted in 2017. A variety of stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, community members, academics, advocacy groups, and the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board contributed to the newly amended regulations. The amended regulations will improve accuracy and consistency of reported data, which will in turn assist our office, independent researchers, and the public in tracking and analyzing whether racial or identity profiling occurs in the State, and in what form. Other amendments will streamline the reporting process by clarifying officers’ reporting obligations and will establish a process for disclosure of confidential RIPA stop data for purposes of advancing public policy and scientific study.
Currently, over 550 law enforcement agencies collect RIPA stop data and report it to DOJ. This data is not only used to inform policy and other recommendations issued by the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board, but has been a cornerstone for law enforcement agencies in understanding and shaping policy at the local level. California Code of Regulations, title 11, section 999.28, related to the release of confidential data to researchers is effective as of August 5, 2022, while California Code of Regulations, title 11, sections 999.224, 999.226, and 999.227 related to data collection is effective on January 1, 2024.
Final Rulemaking Documents
The official public comment period began on Friday, July 9, 2021 and concluded on September 3, 2021.
Government Code section 12525.5, subdivision (e), requires the Department of Justice (Department) to consult with a variety of stakeholders in drafting these regulations, including "the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board..., federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and community, professional, academic, research, and civil and human rights organizations." In 2017, the Department consulted with various stakeholders and the regulations, described above, are the result of informal and formal recommendations by these stakeholders, and considerable review and research of existing data collection programs in other jurisdictions. Among other things, the Department met with, held teleconferences, and engaged with stakeholders from a variety of agencies and organizations, including community and civil rights organizations that sponsored or supported RIPA; associations that represent law enforcement agencies throughout California; federal, state and local law enforcement agencies; professors and representatives from academic institutions and organizations, including those from within California and also those based in other states; representatives from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics; and representatives from numerous civil rights, community and social and criminal justice organizations, including individuals representing the LGBT, immigrant rights, disability rights and youth rights communities, as well as members of various religious organizations. In addition to the Department’s outreach to stakeholders and review of policies, ordinances, statutes, reports, and studies regarding stop data collection practices in California and other states, the Department also received numerous letters with recommendations from various civil rights and community rights organizations that sponsored or supported RIPA, before, during and after the public comment periods.
The Department solicited advice from the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board during multiple meetings, and its various subcommittees, which met throughout July, August, September and October 2016. Attorney General Becerra personally met with stakeholders from advocacy groups, academic researchers, and law enforcement to hear their recommendations on improvements and issues that should be considered in the Department's preparation of the regulations. In May 2017, the Department conducted a field test of proposed stop data elements to assist in understanding the practical effect of the regulations and to help evaluate the costs associated with different methods for collecting and reporting the data. The methodology used to obtain time estimates on completion of the stop data forms and how the cost estimates were calculated is set forth in detail in the Revised STD Form 399 and Addendum.
On December 9, 2016, the Department published proposed regulations regarding California's Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015. The Department heard public comment on the proposed regulations until January 27, 2017. During that time, the Department also held public hearings on January 12, 2017 (Los Angeles), January 18, 2017 (Oakland), and January 26, 2017 (Fresno). Oral comments on the proposed regulations were accepted at each of these hearings and transcribed by a certified court reporter. In addition, written comments were received by the Department throughout the public comment period. On August 1, 2017, the Department published the Notice of Availability of Modified Text of Proposed Regulations and Related Materials, making the regulations available for an additional 15-day public comment period.
After thoroughly considering the oral and written commentary from stakeholders, and reviewing stop data collection programs in other jurisdictions, the Department submitted finalized regulations to the Office of Administrative Law on September 26, 2017. These regulations will provide instructions to law enforcement agencies and their officers, as well as clarity regarding what data to report, and the logistics of how and when to report this data.
The 2017 regulation rulemaking documents are below:
Final Rulemaking Documents
Modifications to Proposed Regulations in Response to Commentary (with a 15-day Comment Period – ended August 16, 2017)
Initial Rulemaking Documents (with a 45-day Comment Period – ended January 27, 2017)
For more information about the Office of Administrative Law and California's Rulemaking Process, see Office of Administrative Law - California Code of Regulations