AB 953: Law enforcement: racial profiling.
- Session Year: 2015-2016
- House: Assembly
Existing law creates the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training and requires it to develop and disseminate guidelines and training for all law enforcement officers, as described. Existing law prohibits a peace officer from engaging in racial profiling and requires the training to prescribe patterns, practices, and protocols that prevent racial profiling, as defined. Existing law requires the Legislative Analysts Office to conduct a study of the data that is voluntarily collected by jurisdictions that have instituted a program of data collection with regard to racial profiling.
This bill would enact the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, which would, among other changes, revise the definition of racial profiling to instead refer to racial or identity profiling, and make a conforming change to the prohibition against peace officers engaging in that practice.
The bill would require, beginning July 1, 2016, the Attorney General to establish the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA) to eliminate racial and identity profiling and improve diversity and racial and identity sensitivity in law enforcement. The bill would specify the composition of the board. The bill would require the board, among other duties, to investigate and analyze state and local law enforcement agencies racial and identity profiling policies and practices across geographic areas in California, to annually make publicly available its findings and policy recommendations, to hold public meetings annually, as specified, and to issue the boards first annual report no later than January 1, 2018.
The bill would require each state and local agency that employs peace officers to annually report to the Attorney General data on all stops, as defined, conducted by the agencys peace officers, and require that data to include specified information, including the time, date, and location of the stop, and the reason for the stop. The bill would require an agency that employs 1,000 or more peace officers to issue its first annual report by April 1, 2019. The bill would require an agency that employs 667 or more but less than 1,000 peace officers to issue its first annual report by April 1, 2020. The bill would require an agency that employs 334 or more but less than 667 peace officers to issue its first annual report by April 1, 2022. The bill would require an agency that employs one or more but less than 334 peace officers to issue its first annual report by April 1, 2023.
By imposing a higher level of service on local entities that employ peace officers, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.