21st Century Policing

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris will join Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. and President Jeremy Travis of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the formation of a partnership to launch the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution (IIP).  Attorney General Harris will serve on the Institute’s Advisory Board. 

The Institute will bring together prosecutors, academics, law enforcement officials, and other leaders to develop practical solutions to the critical issues facing the criminal justice system in the 21st century, including how to ensure public safety while at the same time improving fairness in the system.

“For too long, criminal justice policy in America has been framed by a false choice: that one is either ‘tough on crime’ or ‘soft on crime,’” said Attorney General Harris. “This has led to short-sighted policies that erode the public’s faith in the criminal justice system.  By taking a ‘smart on crime’ approach, this partnership will assist in the development and implementation of innovative, data-driven prosecution strategies that will lead to a more transparent, fair and effective criminal justice system.”

“Our investment in IIP represents our bid to ensure that this pivotal moment for criminal justice reform does not pass us by,” said District Attorney Vance. “As a brick-and-mortar think tank housed within a national research university, IIP is uniquely positioned to drive innovation and analysis of the ‘big issues’ confronting prosecutors in the years and decades to come. IIP will advance comprehensive policy solutions reflecting the very best in justice innovation – policies which increase safety and fairness at the same time.”

Affiliated with John Jay’s National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC), the IIP will be led by an Executive Director and will develop program offerings designed to drive policy and procedural changes in the American justice system. The Institute’s wide range of programs will include executive-level forums, professional development, and research opportunities to help enhance prosecutorial strategies, including a workshop for new prosecutors and an executive session on the emerging role of the prosecutor. Through these programs, the IIP will serve as a national laboratory to reimagine the role and function of prosecutors.

Among the initial topics that the Institute will examine include:

• Implicit bias in prosecutors’ offices;

• Data-driven prosecution and investment in preventative crime fighting strategies;

• Pre-trial diversion and release, including a risk assessment and evidence-based approach to achieving better and fairer outcomes for those who enter the criminal justice system;

• Planning for release and re-entry, including bringing prosecutors, judges, and corrections officials together to design and invest in education and skill development for incarcerated individuals in order to maximize success post-release;

• Best-practice models for police-involved fatal encounters with civilians; and

• How prosecutors can best address the impact of gun violence.

The three-year, $3 million in funding being allocated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is the result of settlements with international banks that violated U.S. sanctions. The IIP will be guided by an Advisory Board comprised of Attorney General Harris and the following national leaders in criminal justice reform:

Anita Alvarez
State Attorney, Cook County

Lenore Anderson
Executive Director, Californians for Safety and Justice

Paul Butler
Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

John Chisholm
District Attorney, Milwaukee County

Mai Fernandez
Executive Director, National Center for Victims of Crime

George Gascon
District Attorney, City and County of San Francisco

Nancy Gertner
Senior Lecturer, Harvard Law School

Jackie Lacey
District Attorney, Los Angeles County

Garry McCarthy
Superintendent, Chicago Police Department

Anne Milgram
Vice President of Criminal Justice, Arnold Foundation

A.C. Roper
Chief of Police, Birmingham

Kathy Fernandez Rundle
State’s Attorney, Miami Dade

Dan Satterberg
Prosecuting Attorney, King County (Seattle)

Seth Williams
District Attorney, Philadelphia

Ronald Wright
Professor, Wake Forest University School of Law

The Advisory Board is scheduled to convene its first meeting in October.

Attorney General Harris has demonstrated a career-long commitment to improving the fairness and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. In 2013, she created within the California Department of Justice the Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry to curb recidivism in California by partnering with counties and District Attorneys on best practices and policy initiatives.

This year, she also launched Back on Track Los Angeles, a comprehensive reentry program with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Probation, and other key partners; directed a 90-day Review of her Division of Law Enforcement’s policies on use of force and implicit bias; convened law enforcement leaders to share best practices through her 21st Century Policing Working Group; created the first POST-certified course on Procedural Justice and Implicit Bias in the U.S.; and developed a pilot body-worn camera policy within the Department of Justice. Last month, she launched OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind open data initiative that released unprecedented criminal justice data to strengthen trust, enhance government accountability, and inform public policy.

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on the 23rd anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles riots:

"The 23rd anniversary of the Los Angeles riots highlights the urgent need to continuously rebuild and strengthen the relationship of trust between law enforcement and the communities we are sworn to serve. History has shown us that partnership, dialogue and transparency between police and communities is the path to creating safe and healthy neighborhoods. For that reason, I recently instructed the California Department of Justice to critically review and update our special agent training on implicit bias and the use of force. These actions were taken with the expectation that California’s law enforcement agencies will use this work as a roadmap to review their own policies and make necessary changes. The images of unrest in Baltimore this week are an alarming reminder that we can and must do better to safeguard our communities.”

This month, Attorney General Harris released the results of an internal California Department of Justice 90-Day Review of its special agent training programs on implicit bias and use of force. As part of the review process, the Attorney General also announced the creation of the 21st Century Policing Working Group made up of a diverse coalition of sheriffs, chiefs and other law enforcement leaders from across the state.  This working group is developing new policies on procedural justice, community-oriented policing, and effective training of law enforcement.

The release of the Department’s review and the creation of the working group are part of an effort by the Attorney General and law enforcement leaders across the state to address the crisis of confidence between law enforcement and the communities they serve. 

More information on the DOJ review and actions can be viewed at oag.ca.gov/news.

This week, Attorney General Harris published a piece entitled “Shut the Revolving Door of Prison” for New York University's Brennan Center for Justice, available at http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/shut-revolving-door-prison.  

LOS ANGELES—Today, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the results of an internal California Department of Justice 90-Day Review of its special agent training programs on implicit bias and use of force. As part of the review process, the Attorney General also created the 21st Century Policing Working Group made up of a diverse coalition of sheriffs, chiefs and other law enforcement leaders from across the state. The release of the Department’s review and the creation of the working group are part of an effort to address the crisis of confidence between law enforcement and the communities they serve. 

“The sacred trust between the men and women of law enforcement and the communities we serve is essential to a strong and safe California,” said Attorney General Harris.  “California is leading the way by releasing a review of our special agent trainings on implicit bias and the use of force. These actions are being taken with the goal of increasing transparency and with the expectation that California’s law enforcement agencies will use this work as a roadmap to review their own policies.”

In her second inaugural address in January, Attorney General Harris directed the Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement (the Division) to conduct a 90-Day Review of its special agent trainings on implicit bias and use of force. The Division conducted this review over the course of three months and in consultation with a diverse group of community organizations, advocates, leading academics and law enforcement agencies across the state. The results of the review can serve as a blueprint for California law enforcement agencies to critically examine existing policies and tailor recommendations to their communities. 

“I have long believed that law enforcement functions best when we work with and not simply in our community,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell. “We must continuously earn the trust of our community; these partnerships have become even more critical over the past year. I applaud the work  Attorney General Kamala Harris has done to bring law enforcement leaders together to develop new thinking and strategies in this arena. I look forward to working with her and other law enforcement partners on this important issue.”

"I am pleased to join other law enforcement leaders in this most worthy endeavor to address building community trust. Law Enforcement is a noble profession and the men and women of the Stockton Police Department have been doing some great work in this area that we look forward to sharing," said Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones.

The actions announced by DOJ’s 90-Day Review include the development of the first Implicit Bias and Procedural Justice training in the United States, to be certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (“POST”). The course is being developed in collaboration with Stanford University Professor Jennifer L. Eberhardt, POST, leaders from the Oakland and Stockton Police Departments, and the California Partnership for Safe Communities.  

As part of the review process, the Division trained all command-level staff and 24 special agents on Fair and Impartial Policing and Implicit Bias, and is on track to train the remainder of agents by the end of May. The Division will also institute a body camera policy for all DOJ special agent personnel conducting field operations. The review also included recommendations to increase the recruitment and hiring of a more diverse workforce of special agents and trainees.

Major highlights of the review include: 

• Established the first certified implicit bias and procedural justice training in the United States
• Developed and implemented the first-ever DOJ policy on implicit bias and racial profiling
• Trained all of the Division’s command-level staff and on track to train all special agents on Fair and Impartial Policing and Implicit Bias, by the end of May 2015. 
• Adoption of new body camera technologies to increase transparency and foster trust among Division special agents and the community  
• Efforts to increase the recruitment and hiring of diverse special agents and trainees by expanding the pool of qualified candidates 

In her inaugural address, Attorney General Harris outlined a plan to convene and work with state and local law enforcement partners, community leaders and youth to develop solutions, to increase mutual understanding and strengthen trust. As a result, the Attorney General created the 21st Century Policing Working Group to foster discussion regarding implicit bias and building community trust. The Working Group has held eight meetings and created subcommittees on three topics: effective training, community-oriented policing, and procedural justice. The subcommittees are exploring each of these issues in-depth, sharing best practices and policies, and discussing how they apply to various communities. 

In addition, the Attorney General’s Office has convened community members, including roundtable discussions with high school students from South and East Los Angeles. The meetings served as an opportunity to listen to their experiences with police and their ideas on how to improve the relationship between youth and law enforcement.  

A copy of the review can be found is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.

LOS ANGELES -- Attorneys General Kamala D. Harris of California and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada today announced that their states have entered into a joint investigation alliance designed to assist homeowners who have been harmed by misconduct and fraud in the mortgage industry.

By forging this alliance, California and Nevada will combine investigative resources, including litigation strategies, information, and evidence gathered through their respective ongoing investigations, assisting each state as it pursues independent prosecutions.

This alliance will link the offices’ civil and criminal enforcement teams, speeding along the full, fair and adequate investigation of wrongdoing in the two states, which have experienced similar foreclosure and mortgage fraud crises.

“The mortgage crisis is a man-made disaster that has taken a heavy toll on the country, but it saved its worst for California and Nevada,” said California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. “The mortgage crisis is a law enforcement matter, and we will prosecute to hold accountable those who are responsible and also protect the homeowners who are targeted for fraud. I am delighted that California and Nevada are entering into this alliance to leverage the best results for our investigations and look forward to forging similar collaboration with other states.”

“I am pleased to join forces with General Harris to fight against fraudulent mortgage and foreclosure practices that continue to devastate lives, homes, and the economy in Nevada and California,” said Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto. “This strong partnership will allow our states to make an even more concerted effort to hold fraud perpetrators accountable and ensure law-abiding homeowners receive justice.”

By most objective measures, California and Nevada have been the states hardest hit by the nation’s foreclosure crisis. In October 2011, Nevada and California ranked first and second, respectively, for the percentage of their housing units that entered the foreclosure process, reflecting a parallel surge in foreclosures in the two states. One in every 180 Nevada properties entered the foreclosure process in October, and one in every 243 California homes received a filing that month. In 2010, California led the nation with a total of 546,669 foreclosure filings (4 percent of the state’s housing units), while Nevada led the nation with 9.4 percent of its homes receiving a foreclosure filing (totaling 106,160 units).

The crisis in these Western states is similar because both states share a foreclosure system in which a bank can foreclose on a borrower’s home without court oversight, also called “non-judicial foreclosure.” The collective result has created a rich opportunity for predators, leading both states to make mortgage-related law enforcement action a top priority.

In May 2011, Attorney General Harris formed a Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, now composed of nearly 40 attorneys and investigators, that has launched a wide series of investigations and litigation. The Mortgage Fraud Strike Force has instigated legal actions, including a lawsuit alleging false representations and other unlawful conduct in the marketing of multi-million dollar 'mass joinder' lawsuits, and the arrests earlier this month of three top officers of a Stockton real estate company who took thousands of dollars in up-front loan modification fees and made false promises to assist struggling Central Valley homeowners with lowering their mortgage payments.

In 2007, Attorney General Masto formed the Nevada Mortgage Fraud Strike Force that launched a wide series of investigations and litigation into areas including violations of the law related to mortgage lending, servicing, and foreclosure practices and the creation, rating, marketing, sale, and management of mortgage backed securities. The Nevada Mortgage Fraud Strike Force has taken action against predatory “mortgage rescue” companies and individuals claiming to offer services to stop foreclosures. Last month, the Strike Force announced the indictments of Gerri Sheppard and Gary Trafford, who led a massive robo-signing scheme which resulted in the filing of tens of thousands of fraudulent documents. Nevada is also suing Bank of America and its subsidiaries, including Countrywide, for violations of a Consent Judgment for mortgage servicing and mortgage origination irregularities.

The Mortgage Investigation Alliance is the product of weeks of discussion between Attorneys General Harris and Masto regarding the most effective and efficient means of achieving justice for their respective states. Today’s announcement formalizes an agreement reached between the two officials last week.

SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. continued his fight today against an attack on the state’s innovative use of DNA to identify suspects of violent crimes, asserting that “DNA is the fingerprint of the 21st century.”

In an argument before the federal court of appeals in San Francisco, Brown’s office defended the state’s voter-mandated collection of DNA from adults arrested for felonies.

“California is at the forefront of solving crimes through new and innovative uses of DNA technology, and I intend to do everything in my power to defend the state’s ability to reduce crime by collecting DNA from those arrested for felonies,” Brown said. “So far, DNA collected from arrestees has led to the identification of suspects in more than 970 rapes, murders and other very serious crimes,” Brown added.

This case arose when the ACLU filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the state’s DNA arrestee program. The Attorney General prevailed in the United States District Court, and the ACLU appealed to the federal court of appeals.

Samples are taken through a simple procedure using a wooden swab to collect DNA from the inside of a person’s cheek. Strict safeguards ensure that the samples are used only by law enforcement officials to identify an individual and not for any other purpose.

Brown pointed out that about 40 percent of homicides and 60 percent of rapes go unsolved. For example, many of the victims of the Grim Sleeper might still be alive if the suspect had been identified from DNA taken when he was previously arrested.

Collecting DNA samples from those arrested for felonies is a profoundly important way to help solve murders, rapes and other very serious crimes. It should be noted that almost half of those arrested for felonies are repeat offenders.

In 2004, California voters approved Proposition 69, which required law enforcement officers to begin last year taking DNA samples from every adult arrested for a felony.

The program is accomplishing its purpose: identifying criminal suspects. In its first 18 months, DNA collected from arrestees has lead to the identification of 970 suspects of serious felonies. For example:

• DNA collected from Donald Carter, 56, arrested in Sacramento in 2009 on a felony drug charge, was linked to the unsolved 20-year-old murder of Sophie McAllister, 80. Although Carter's drug charge was dismissed, he was later charged with murder and his trial is pending.

• In April 2009, Christopher Rogers, 34, was arrested in Sacramento for assault with a deadly weapon, which was ultimately reduced to a misdemeanor. But his DNA, collected at the time of arrest, was matched to DNA taken at the scene of a 2004 murder in Sacramento. In October, Rogers was arrested and charged with murder. He awaits trial.

• In August 2009, Rene Hernandez, 26, was arrested in Watsonville for felony assault. His DNA was linked to a February 2009 sexual assault of a Watsonville woman, and he was arrested on multiple charges related to that crime. His trial is pending.

• In May 2009, Anthony Vega was arrested in Los Angeles County on felony drug charges, which were later reduced to misdemeanors. His DNA, collected at the time of arrest, was linked to two separate crimes committed in Orange County, a burglary in 2007 and a 2008 armed home invasion robbery. A preliminary hearing is scheduled.

• Earlier this year, Joshua Graham Packer, 20, was arrested in Santa Barbara on armed robbery charges. His DNA was matched to a sample taken at the site of an unsolved 2009 triple murder in Ventura County. He was arrested for that crime in April and charged with murder.

Oral arguments in the case were scheduled today in the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals at Seventh and Mission streets in San Francisco.

Attached are briefs filed in the case. An earlier press release on the DNA felony arrestee program can be found at http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1936&