Law Enforcement

SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced her sponsorship of two bills which will improve statewide tracking of forensic evidence through the adoption of technology.  The legislative package directs law enforcement to take advantage of two secure databases operated by the California Department of Justice: the CODIS Hit Outcome Project (CHOP), which enables agencies to share confidential information about the outcomes of DNA matches; and the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Tracking (SAFE-T) database, which will enable the state to track the collection and processing of sexual assault evidence kits.

“DNA evidence is a tool that provides law enforcement with critical evidence to bring justice to sexual assault victims,” said Attorney General Harris.  “By taking full advantage of the state’s existing forensic tracking technologies, these bills will bolster and modernize law enforcement efforts to solve sexual assault crimes.”

AB 1848 by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) will direct all local law enforcement agencies to use a second tracking system within the California Department of Justice, the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Tracking (SAFE-T) tool.  This database was specifically designed by the Attorney General’s Bureau of Forensic Services to allow local law enforcement agencies to log and track the status of all so-called “rape kits” collected from victims of sexual assault.  The bill will include annual reporting to the state on metrics relating to how many kits were collected and how many kits were indeed analyzed by a DNA lab.  In cases where local agencies decide not to test a kit, they will be required to provide a reason.

“Survivors of sexual assault who are submitting sexual assault evidence kits aren’t getting the answers they need and deserve,” said Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco). “To get at the crux of the backlog problem, we need to know how many kits are collected each year, and if they’re not analyzed, we need to know why.  This data will help shed a light on what areas of law enforcement need to change and whether or not they need more resources to get the job done. I look forward to working with Attorney General Harris on this crucial effort.”

SB 1079 by Senator Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) will achieve universal use the state’s CODIS Hit Outcome Project (CHOP) database.  This advanced technological database helps streamline criminal casework and enables law enforcement agencies to confidentially share information on the outcomes of DNA matches when their own evidence comes back with a positive match to the same known perpetrator.  The database also features a tracking system that assists local agencies in tracking the progress of a DNA hit once crime scene forensic evidence has been matched against a sample in the national database.  Universal adoption of CHOP will ensure that California’s law enforcement agencies are able to fully leverage this technology to promote public safety.

“My bill ensures that local agencies use cold hit information to its full potential for case investigations. Proper use of a statewide system will mean investigations will be more efficient, repeat offenders will be found in the system, and rape kits will be accurately tracked, among other benefits,” said State Senator Glazer (D-Orinda).

Both CHOP and SAFE-T are secure, web-based databases made available to local law enforcement agencies free of charge.  The California Department of Justice, which manages the state’s DNA Data Bank Program, created CHOP in 2009.  SAFE-T was created in 2015 in part as a response to recommendations from a report by the State Auditor.  When evidence taken from a sexual assault kit is analyzed and matched to a sample in CODIS, the SAFE-T profile is automatically linked to a database entry in CHOP. 

In California, law enforcement collects DNA samples from all felony offenders and arrestees, which are submitted into the CODIS database.  When a DNA sample is taken from a crime scene involving an unidentified suspect, the database is checked for possible matches.  In January 2012, Attorney General Harris announced that, for the first time ever, the backlog of untested DNA evidence in state labs had been eliminated. Since that time, the Department’s Bureau of Forensic Services has assisted counties in clearing their own backlogs.

In April 2014, the Attorney General’s innovative RADS program received the United States Department of Justice’s Award for Professional Innovation in Victim Services, and in 2015 the program was awarded a $1.6 million grant to test sexual assault evidence kits at local laboratories.

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the release of OpenJustice v1.1, the next version of her criminal justice transparency initiative, which seeks to make public an unprecedented amount of data in easy-to-use and digestible ways so that we can hold ourselves accountable and improve public policy to make California safer. The OpenJustice v1.1 rollout includes new features focused on allowing Californians to better understand how the criminal justice system is working in their specific communities.

Now at a city, county, and state level, the OpenJustice Dashboard shows crime, clearance, and arrest rates, as well as arrest-related deaths, deaths in custody, and law enforcement officers killed or assaulted. Because public safety is also impacted by many societal factors outside of law enforcement, the Dashboard incorporates important contextual data such as population and demographic information, unemployment rates, poverty rates, and educational attainment levels. Through interactive maps, charts and tools, everyone – from communities to law enforcement to policymakers – will be able to identify where our system is doing well to promote public safety and equity in the justice system, and in what areas we must continue to improve.

“OpenJustice adds accountability and transparency to California’s criminal justice system – helping to rebuild the trust between law enforcement and the communities we are sworn to protect,” said Attorney General Harris. “This data helps clarify a simple truth: too many boys and young men of color are being arrested and killed by police. By releasing vast amounts of criminal justice data, OpenJustice v1.1 adds numbers and facts to the national debate on police-community relations. Law enforcement agencies across the nation should embrace data-driven policy changes to improve our criminal justice system and make our streets safer.”

In September 2015, Attorney General Harris launched OpenJustice by publishing three data sets at a statewide level, and committing to continue to release additional criminal justice data collected by the California Department of Justice. OpenJustice v1.1 delivers on that promise by releasing new data and at a more detailed level.

For each data set, anyone can use the Dashboard to look at overall trends, and also sort by race, gender, and age to better understand how different demographic groups are impacted by the justice system. The updated site also enables users to see the types of crimes (violent and property) and arrests (felonies and misdemeanors) across jurisdictions, compared to the California and national averages, and over time. In addition, the site continues to highlight the real danger that law enforcement personnel face everyday to keep our communities safe.

The OpenJustice initiative builds on Attorney General Kamala D. Harris’s leadership by deploying 21st century “Smart on Crime” approaches to improve public safety.  As California’s chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Harris has worked to introduce new technology to the Department of Justice and law enforcement agencies across the state.  She has also championed the use of data to measure outcomes in public education and understand their impact on the criminal justice system.

In addition to OpenJustice, Attorney General Harris has also taken several steps to strengthen the trust between law enforcement and California communities. She directed a 90-day Review of her Division of Law Enforcement’s policies on use of force and implicit bias, convened the state’s 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 program to test body-worn cameras within the Department of Justice.

The OpenJustice Dashboard will continue to spotlight metrics from across the justice system and a broad array of data sets will be released to foster accountability and trust. This tool will enable researchers, civic coders, journalists, and policymakers to help tackle seemingly intractable problems in the criminal justice system. 

To view all of the data released today, visit OpenJustice (http://openjustice.doj.ca.gov).

SANTA BARBARA - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department have completed a two-day sweep to remove firearms from individuals legally barred from possessing them, including persons determined to be mentally unstable and those with active restraining orders against them. The joint operation resulted in the seizure of 83 firearms, 6,326 rounds of ammunition, 52 ammunition magazines and 10 arrests, targeting individuals on the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS). The seized firearms included three assault weapons.

This operation, as well as ongoing and day-to-day investigations, reduced the number of individuals in APPS to a historic low. During the past 30 months, the Bureau of Firearms has conducted over 18,608 APPS cases, and has taken 335 assault weapons, 4,549 handguns, 4,848 long-guns, and 43,246 rounds of ammunition off the streets from those who illegally possessed them.

As of February 11, 2016, the number of subjects on the APPS list is 12,334, the lowest it’s been since August 2008.

“Removing firearms from dangerous and violent individuals makes our communities safer,” said Attorney General Harris. “I thank our Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms Special Agents and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department for taking on this dangerous work and their steadfast commitment to keeping our streets safe.”

"I thank the Attorney General’s Office for providing the resources to help confiscate illegally-possessed firearms in Santa Barbara County. Good people can and do differ in their viewpoints on how guns should be controlled, but I think we can all agree that firearms should not be in the hands of felons, violent offenders or persons suffering from severe mental illness. Removing weapons from those on the Armed and Prohibited Persons list targets law breakers and makes our community a safer place," said Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown. 

“I commend Attorney General Kamala Harris, the Department of Justice and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department for their tremendous efforts getting guns and ammunition out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them in the first place,” said Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara). “Unfortunately, we are a community that knows too painfully well about the costs and devastation of gun violence. These efforts help prevent potential tragedies while showing that the APPs system is a powerful tool for law enforcement to use to keep our communities safe.”

“I want to highlight the work of the California Department of Justice’s Office of the Attorney General, as well as the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, who worked together tirelessly to ensure that this illegal firearm sweep was a success. The primary goal of these sweeps is compliance, and getting guns out of the hands of prohibited individuals means safer communities and less illegal firearms throughout the County. By acting with professionalism and excellent coordination, over 80 firearms and 6000 rounds of ammunition were successfully seized with a minimal number of arrests. Locating and seizing illegal firearms is dangerous and demanding work, so on behalf of Santa Barbara County I thank all those who were involved," said Assemblymember Das Williams.

The APPS sweep, which began on February 9, was completed over two days and closed 79 cases.

Thanks to the dedication of our special agents and local law enforcement, the California Department of Justice has doubled the average number of guns seized per year and increased the number of investigations per month by nearly 300% over the past two years.

In November 2015, the California Department of Justice and the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department conducted a joint APPS operation, resulting in 150 investigations and the seizure of 82 firearms, and 10 arrests.

In May of last year, an APPS collaboration between L.A. County local law enforcement and California Department of Justice Special Agents resulted in the arrest of 26 individuals, the seizure of 254 firearms, 48,000 rounds of ammunition, and 18 illegal high capacity magazines.

The APPS database was completed in November 2006, and instantly created a backlog of thousands of investigations. APPS identifies individuals who purchased firearms, but later became prohibited from legally owning them because they were convicted of a felony or a violent misdemeanor, placed under a domestic violence restraining order, or suffer from serious mental illness.

California is the first and only state in the nation to establish an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon owners who might fall into a prohibited status.

In 2011, Attorney General Harris sponsored SB 819 (Leno) to allow the Department of Justice to use existing regulatory fees collected by gun dealers (“DROS fees”) for purposes of regulatory and enforcement activities related to firearms, including management of APPS.  This went into effect January 2012.  In 2013, Attorney General Harris sponsored SB 140 (Leno) to appropriate $24 million in funding from the DROS Account to help support the APPS program; this urgency legislation went into effect immediately in May 2013. In 2015, Attorney General Harris submitted a letter urging the legislature to make funding to the APPS program permanent.

OAKLAND – In honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Day, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the Attorney General’s office, Truckers Against Trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office will host a training on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, to equip the trucking industry and law enforcement with the tools to effectively identify and charge suspected traffickers.

The training will be held at the Port of Oakland and will provide resources to help truck drivers recognize and report suspected traffickers to law enforcement.  Given the cross-jurisdictional nature of the crime of human trafficking and the use of major thoroughfares by traffickers, truck drivers are particularly well-positioned to aid law enforcement.  The event will also feature The Freedom Drivers Project, a first-of-its-kind 48-foot mobile exhibit that includes artifacts from trafficking cases, portraits of Truckers Against Trafficking members, and ways members of the public can join the fight against human trafficking.

“Human trafficking is one of the world’s most heinous and profitable criminal enterprises,” said Attorney General Harris.  “It is unconscionable that each year, thousands of vulnerable children and adults are forced into labor and prostitution.  Those who buy trafficked labor must also be held accountable for their outrageous crimes.  I thank Truckers Against Trafficking and our law enforcement partners for their work to dismantle networks of traffickers and this criminal industry.”

“California is at the national forefront in the fight to end human trafficking.  Local and statewide law enforcement agencies and prosecutor’s offices cannot wage this battle without the assistance of groups like Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT),” said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley.  “TAT enables concerned truckers to act as additional eyes on the road for signs of human trafficking and to subvert demand for sex trafficking.  Every member of our community should be aware that children and adults are trafficked on a daily basis around our state and nation, and we each have a vital role to play in ending this horrendous criminal enterprise.”

“We are pleased to be able to forge a partnership with Attorney General Harris’ office, Alameda County District Attorney O’Malley and the Truckers Against Trafficking to combat human trafficking,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch.  “This alliance will illustrate once again why a collaborative model unifying state and federal law enforcement with service providers is an effective instrument in our fight against human trafficking.” 

“We are thrilled to work with our partners at the California Trucking Association and the California Attorney General's office to bring law enforcement and key trucking industry stakeholders into a networking and training session,” said Kylla Lanier, the Deputy Director for Truckers Against Trafficking.  “By equipping these critical audiences to recognize suspected human trafficking, traffickers will find it harder to operate, and victims will have a better opportunity at being recovered.”

“The California Trucking Association is proud to partner with Truckers Against Trafficking and the California Attorney General’s office,” said Shawn Yadon, CEO of The California Trucking Association. “As a long-standing supporter of Truckers Against Trafficking, the trucking industry has made it a top priority to work with our coalition partners by helping to deliver educational platforms to fight against issues related to human trafficking.”

"We encourage everyone to get educated on trafficking by visiting http://www.notraffickahead.com/, a workgroup of over 50 agencies across the Bay Area leading the fight against Human Trafficking,” said Sharan Dhanoa of the No Traffick Ahead Coalition.

Wednesday’s training is part of an ongoing partnership between Attorney General Harris’s office and U.S. Attorney’s offices in California to address the need for heightened awareness of labor trafficking, which is often overlooked in anti-human trafficking efforts.  Participants in previous trainings have included the U.S. Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, California’s Employment Development Department and Department of Fair Employment and Housing, City Attorney’s Offices, local regulatory offices, as well as service providers and law enforcement agencies.  This training in Oakland is the ninth in a series that began over a year ago in Fresno and other trainings have been held in Sacramento, San Francisco, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Luis Obispo. 

On Tuesday, January 12, 2016, Attorney General Harris will also receive the Modern Day Abolition Award from the San Francisco Coalition Against Human Trafficking, which she helped to establish while serving as District Attorney of San Francisco.  The award recognizes individuals who have worked to prevent and prosecute human trafficking and protect victims from violence, exploitation, and slavery.

Throughout her career, Attorney General Harris has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fighting human trafficking.  She has advocated for increased collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases, as well as early and frequent collaboration between law enforcement and victim service providers.

In addition, Attorney General Harris’s office will be working with local law enforcement in Santa Clara County and statewide to combat human trafficking in the lead-up to and during the Super Bowl, which will be held on February 7, 2016, in the city of Santa Clara, California.

The Attorney General’s office is actively investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases across California, most recently securing convictions against four defendants who were running a brothel out of an Emeryville massage parlor, with the owner receiving a 10-year prison sentence.

Last year, Attorney General Harris released a resource guide for companies on complying with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 (SB 657), a law requiring retailers and manufacturers doing business in California that have annual worldwide gross receipts exceeding $100,000,000 to disclose on their websites their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their product supply chains.  Attorney General Harris’s office is actively investigating companies that may be in violation of the law.  More information is available at https://oag.ca.gov/SB657.

In 2014, Attorney General Harris released a report, Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime, which identified human trafficking as an emerging criminal enterprise undertaken by transnational criminal organizations and recommended creating state task forces to investigate and disrupt these organizations.  In 2012, Attorney General Harris created a Human Trafficking Work Group and released a report, The State of Human Trafficking in California, which outlined the growing prevalence of this $32 billion-a-year global industry and the way in which California is uniquely affected.

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued an information bulletin to California law enforcement agencies outlining new responsibilities under state law to report incidents involving shootings or any use of force that results in serious bodily injury or death of a civilian or a peace officer.

AB 71 (Rodriguez), which was supported by Attorney General Harris, requires all California law enforcement agencies starting January 1, 2016 to begin collecting data on incidents involving the shooting of a civilian by a peace officer, the shooting of a peace officer by a civilian, as well as data on incidents involving use of force by a civilian/peace officer against the other that result in serious bodily injury or death.  An annual report of data must be submitted to the California Department of Justice beginning January 1, 2017.

“As a career prosecutor, I have always known one central truth: the public and law enforcement need each other to keep our communities safe.  I am proud to implement landmark legislation requiring reporting from law enforcement agencies to the California Department of Justice on shooting and use of force incidents,” said Attorney General Harris.  “California is leading the nation in promoting accountability through open data, which will strengthen trust between law enforcement and the communities that we are sworn to protect.”

As a part of the bulletin, the Attorney General distributed a use of force incident template to inform law enforcement agencies and officers of the required data fields that must be submitted to the Department of Justice.  This template was created with input from stakeholders including Assemblymember Rodriguez’ office, California law enforcement associations, state and local law enforcement agencies, and advocacy groups.  The template and its accompanying instructions are also available on the California Law Enforcement Web and on the California Department of Justice website: http://oag.ca.gov/law.

In order to make reporting less cumbersome for officers, the Department of Justice will be working with select law enforcement agencies to develop and field test a web-based data collection system that will allow law enforcement to track and submit use of force data electronically.  Once user tested and accepted, all law enforcement agencies will be able to track data internally as well as report data electronically utilizing this system.  This new web-based collection system will dramatically improve the quality and efficiency of data collection by the Department. 

In 2017, use of force data collected by the Department of Justice under the new law will also be published on the Attorney General’s OpenJustice Dashboard and Data Portal, which was launched in September 2015.  OpenJustice is a first-of-its-kind criminal justice open data initiative that releases unprecedented data and provides user-friendly visualization tools.  The Dashboard spotlights key metrics and embraces transparency in the criminal justice system to strengthen trust, enhance government accountability, and inform public policy.  Attorney General Harris began by releasing data on: (1) Deaths in Custody, (2) Arrest Rates and (3) Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted. 

Since January 2015, Attorney General Harris has taken several steps to strengthen the trust between law enforcement and California communities.  These actions include:

• Directing the Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement to conduct a 90-Day Review of its special agent trainings on implicit bias and use of force.
• Initiating a body camera pilot program for  DOJ special agents.
• Convening law enforcement, youth, and community organizations to facilitate discourse about the best ways to cultivate trust and positive relationships.
• Creating the 21st Century Policing Working Group to foster discussion regarding implicit bias and building community trust, and to share best practices.
• Launching OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind criminal justice open data initiative that is releasing unprecedented information with a focus on being interactive and highlighting data stories.  
• Training Police Executives from 29 different law enforcement agencies in a Principled Policing Course, a POST Certified Training on Implicit Bias and Procedural Justice.

SACRAMENTO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of Alex Morales III, 54, an employee of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), on bribery charges. Morales allegedly received bribes in the form of money and a vehicle in return for ensuring that Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) contracts were awarded to the person or company providing the bribe.

“Accepting bribes in exchange for awarding public contracts is illegal and corrupt, and violates the public’s trust in government,” said Attorney General Harris. “My office will continue to hold this individual – and others like him – accountable for their crimes.”

Morales is an ADA Statewide Coordinator for Caltrans, a role which involves making Caltrans systems, including bridges and public walkways, ADA compliant. According to the felony complaint, he accepted numerous bribes totaling at least $100,000 over the course of approximately four years. The bribes were presented in monthly cash payments ranging from $1,800 to $12,000, and also through a bribe in the form of a new white Ford sports utility vehicle.

The arrest came after a 9 month-long investigation by the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation, Special Investigation Team. Special agents served 4 search warrants leading up to the arrests, including some at state office buildings. All agencies involved, including Caltrans, fully cooperated with the Attorney General’s investigation.

“We have a set of values that drive Caltrans and this behavior is not consistent with those values,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “If an employee goes outside of those values, they don’t have a place in this department.” 

A copy of the felony complaint is attached to the online version of this press release at oag.ca.gov/news.

VENTURA - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice will be formally joining the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office in the ongoing prosecution of multiple individual and corporate defendants charged with environmental crimes and other specified offenses related to the November 18, 2014 explosion at the Santa Clara Waste Water Company facility located in Santa Paula, California. 

The explosion disbursed toxic chemical residue and is alleged to have caused serious injuries to employees and first responders. In August 2015, a Ventura County grand jury indicted nine individuals and two corporate entities on multiple criminal counts including conspiracy to dispose of hazardous waste, failure to warn of a serious concealed danger, handling a hazardous waste with a reckless disregard for human life, withholding information regarding a substantial danger to public safety, filing a false or forged instrument, and dissuading a witness.

“The reckless handling of hazardous waste is a danger to public health and safety, and will not be tolerated in California,” said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris.  “My office will continue to prosecute serious environmental and health violations and will work closely with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office to hold all perpetrators accountable.”

Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten stated, “We are pleased with the Attorney General’s decision and welcome the contribution of prosecutorial resources and environmental expertise the Department of Justice will bring to this case.”

This joint prosecution effort follows a nine-month investigation by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Ventura County Environmental Health Department, and the Ventura County Fire Department. The joint prosecution will include all aspects of the case, as well as the ongoing investigation into the storage of thousands of gallons of chemicals recently discovered through execution of a search warrant at the company’s facility in Santa Paula on November 5, 2015.

Green Compass Environmental Solutions LLC, one of the corporate entities previously indicted by the Ventura County Grand Jury, has facilities in Orange County, Kern County, and conducts waste disposal services in the Bay Area, making this matter one of statewide significance.

The next court date is an arraignment on December 1, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. in Department 12 of the Ventura Superior Court.

FRESNO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that California Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms Special Agents have removed more than 500 firearms from a single individual that is legally barred from owning them and is in the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) database.  Through this operation, agents seized 209 handguns, 88 shotguns, 234 rifles, 181 standard capacity magazines, 10 high capacity magazines, 100,521 rounds of various ammunition, and 10 assault weapons including a .50 caliber bolt action rifle. The individual, from Clovis, is on the APPS database due to a prior mental health hold, which prohibits an individual from possessing firearms. The individual was arrested for illegally possessing the firearms. 

This operation, as well as ongoing and day-to-day investigations have reduced the number of individuals in APPS to a historic low.  Since November 2013, Attorney General Harris has brought the number of individuals in the registry down by nearly half.  Over the last two years, the California Department of Justice has doubled the average number of guns seized annually and increased the number of investigations per month by nearly 300%, allowing special agents to conduct 17,465 investigations as of October 30, 2015. 

“Removing firearms from dangerous and violent individuals who pose a threat to themselves and the public is a top priority for the California Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Harris.  “I thank our Bureau of Firearms Special Agents for their bravery in carrying out these dangerous investigations and their commitment to keeping our communities safe.”

In October, California Department of Justice Special Agents and the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department conducted an APPS operation that resulted in the seizure of 82 firearms and 10 arrests.  In May, California Department of Justice Special Agents and local law enforcement partners in Los Angeles County conducted a similar successful operation that resulted in the seizure of 254 firearms, 48,000 rounds of ammunition, and 18 illegal high capacity magazines, as well as the arrest of 26 individuals.

In 2011, Attorney General Harris sponsored SB 819 (Leno) to allow the Department of Justice to use existing regulatory fees collected by gun dealers (“DROS fees”) for purposes of regulatory and enforcement activities related to firearms, including management of APPS.  This went into effect January 2012.  In 2013, Attorney General Harris sponsored SB 140 (Leno) to appropriate $24 million in funding from the DROS Account to help support the APPS program; this urgency legislation went into effect immediately in May 2013.

APPS works to identify individuals who previously procured firearms, but later became barred from legally owning them because they were convicted of a felony or a violent misdemeanor, placed under a domestic violence restraining order, or suffer from serious mental illness.  California is the first and only state in the U.S. to establish an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon owners who might fall into a prohibited status.

LOS ANGELES - In the wake of recent events in California and across the nation that highlight the need for building trust between law enforcement and the communities they are sworn to serve, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has taken several steps to strengthen this relationship. Today, Attorney General Harris announced the kickoff of the first Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (“POST”) certified law enforcement training on both procedural justice and implicit bias, the first of its kind in the country.

The first of two course dates will be held today at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and the second will be held on Thursday, November 19 at the California Highway Patrol in Sacramento. 

“In January, I began a dialogue with leaders of the California law enforcement community about strengthening the relationship of trust between law enforcement and the communities we are sworn to serve,” said Attorney General Harris.  “Throughout this dialogue, a theme has emerged regarding the need to continue to bring best-in-class training to law enforcement across our state.  Today, we are proud to announce that the California Department of Justice is offering the first POST certified course in the nation to combine the concepts of procedural justice and implicit bias.  This course is the result of a true collaboration with law enforcement, community partners and academics to bring evidence-based concepts into practice.”

The training course, titled “Principled Policing:  Procedural Justice and Implicit Bias” is the result of a collaborative partnership between the California Department of Justice, the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training, the Stockton and Oakland Police Departments, Stanford University and the California Partnership for Safe Communities.

“On behalf of POST, we are proud to join Attorney General Harris in offering this innovative course on Principled Policing,” said Bob Stresak, Executive Director of POST.  “The high enrollment in this course is a testament to California's law enforcement leaders recognizing that California's communities deserve the highest levels of professional service and that they are committed to making every effort to accomplish this goal.”

Specifically, the procedural justice and implicit bias training will consist of six areas that focus on policing approaches that emphasize respect, listening, neutrality and trust, while recognizing and addressing implicit biases that can be barriers to these approaches.  As a result, the training will work to create a broader awareness of both procedural justice and implicit bias in order to build trust and improve public and officer safety.

“We are pleased to have contributed to this new, research-based training,” said Stanford Professor Jennifer Eberhardt. “Our aim is to improve the ability of law enforcement executives across the state to recognize and address common implicit biases – biases that can be barriers to neutral policing.”

“The experience of police departments across the country, backed up by extensive research, is that procedural justice interventions are among the most effective tools available to police for strengthening trust and communication with communities,” said Stewart Wakeling, Executive Director of the California Partnership for Safer Communities.  “We have worked with the Stockton and Oakland Police Departments, with community leaders and officers as key partners, to bring procedural justice training to their officers, and are excited to add Implicit Bias to the curriculum and make it available to agencies statewide.”

The course will total eight hours of training and participants will receive a certificate and be required to complete a pre- and post- survey of the course.  Stanford University will be compiling the survey results to conduct an evaluation of the course. More than 90 applicants from 30 agencies applied for the course.

“I commend Attorney General Harris and these partners for playing a leadership role in advancing 21st Century Policing at the state level.  The President’s Task Force specifically identifies procedural justice and addressing implicit bias as cornerstones of 21st Century Policing.  General Harris is leading the nation in her support for law enforcement agencies across California to understand and apply these concepts,” said Tracey Meares, Walton Hale Hamilton Professor at Yale Law School and Member of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

The following law enforcement agencies have enrolled in the first courses: 

• Berkeley Police Department
• California Department of Justice
• California Highway Patrol
• El Cerrito Police Department
• Elk Grove Police Department
• Fremont Police Department
• Fresno Police Department
• Indio Police Department
• Lassen County Sheriff’s Department
• Long Beach Police Department
• Los Angeles Airport Police Department
• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
• Los Angeles Police Department
• Modesto Police Department
• Newport Beach Police Department
• Orange County Sheriff’s Department
• Oxnard Police Department
• Rancho Cordova Police Department
• Richmond Police Department
• Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department
• Sacramento Police Department
• San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
• San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
• San Diego Police Department
• San Francisco Police Department
• San Jose Police Department
• Simi Valley Police Department
• Ventura Police Department

POST was formed by the California State Legislature to enforce minimum training and selection standards in order to increase the professionalism of California law enforcement.  

This training was developed as part of the California Department of Justice’s 90-Day Review of its own special agent training programs on implicit bias and use of force which were announced in April 2015.

Since January 2015, Attorney General Harris has taken several steps to strengthen the trust between law enforcement and California communities.  These actions include:

• Directing the Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement to conduct a 90-Day Review of its special agent trainings on implicit bias and use of force.
• Instituting a body camera policy for all DOJ special agent personnel conducting field operations.
• Convening law enforcement, youth and community organizations.
• Creating the 21st Century Policing Working Group to foster discussion regarding implicit bias and building community trust.
• Launching OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind criminal justice open data initiative that will release unprecedented data while being interactive and easy to use.  The tool spotlights key criminal justice indicators and embraces transparency in the criminal justice system to strengthen trust, enhance government accountability, and inform public policy.
• Creating a POST Certified Training on Implicit Bias and Procedural Justice

Last month, Attorney General Harris launched OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind criminal justice open data initiative that will release unprecedented data while being interactive and easy to use.  The tool consists of two components: a Dashboard that spotlights key criminal justice indicators with user-friendly visualization tools and an Open Data Portal that publishes raw data from the California Department of Justice’s statewide repository of criminal justice datasets.  OpenJustice (openjustice.doj.ca.gov) embraces transparency in the criminal justice system to strengthen trust, enhance government accountability, and inform public policy.

SACRAMENTO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department have completed a multi-day operation to remove firearms from individuals legally barred from possessing them, including persons determined to be mentally unstable and those with active restraining orders against them. The joint operation resulted in 150 investigations and the seizure of 82 firearms and 10 arrests, targeting individuals on the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS).

This operation, as well as ongoing and day-to-day investigations, reduced the number of individuals in APPS to a historic low. As of November 4, 2015, the number of individuals on the APPS list is 13,918, the lowest it’s been since January 2009.

“Removing firearms from dangerous and violent individuals who pose a threat to themselves and the public is a top priority for the California Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Harris. “I thank our Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms Special Agents and the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department for their bravery in carrying out these dangerous investigations and their commitment to keeping our communities safe.”

The three-day operation, conducted the week of October 26, included 27 California Department of Justice Special Agents and 20 Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputies.

Over the last two years, the California Department of Justice has doubled the average number of guns seized per year and increased the number of investigations per month by nearly 300%, enabling special agents to conduct 17,465 investigations as of October 30, 2015.

In May, California Department of Justice Special Agents and Los Angeles County local law enforcement partners conducted an APPS operation that resulted in the seizure of 254 firearms, 48,000 rounds of ammunition, and 18 illegal high capacity magazines. The L.A. County operation also resulted in the arrest of 26 individuals.

APPS works to identify individuals who previously purchased firearms, but later became prohibited from legally owning them because they were convicted of a felony or a violent misdemeanor, placed under a domestic violence restraining order, or suffer from serious mental illness. The database was completed in November 2006, and instantly created a queue of thousands of investigations.

In 2011, Attorney General Harris sponsored SB 819 (Leno) to allow the Department of Justice to use existing regulatory fees collected by gun dealers (“DROS fees”) for purposes of regulatory and enforcement activities related to firearms, including management of APPS.  This went into effect January 2012.  In 2013, Attorney General Harris sponsored SB 140 (Leno) to appropriate $24 million in funding from the DROS Account to help support the APPS program; this urgency legislation went into effect immediately in May 2013.

California is the first and only state in the nation to establish an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon owners who might fall into a prohibited status.