BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 458|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 458
Author: Wright (D), et al.
Amended: 5/14/13
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/9/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/6/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Gangs: statewide database
SOURCE : Youth Justice Coalition
DIGEST : This bill requires a local law enforcement agency
to notify a minor and his/her parent or guardian prior to
designating that minor as a gang member, associate, or affiliate
in a shared gang database, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Defines a "criminal street gang" as any ongoing organization,
association, or group of three or more persons?having as one
of its primary activities the commission of one or more
enumerated offenses, having a common name or identifying sign
or symbol, and whose members engage in a pattern of gang
activity.
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2. Provides that any person who actively participates in a
criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage
in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity and
who promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious conduct
by members of the gang, is guilty of an alternate
felony-misdemeanor.
3 Provides that any person who is convicted of a felony
committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in
association with any criminal street gang, with the specific
intent to promote, further, or assist in criminal conduct by
gang members, shall receive a sentence enhancement.
This bill:
1. Requires local law enforcement to notify a minor and the
minor's parent or guardian prior to designating, or
submitting a document to the Attorney General's office for
the purpose of designating that minor as a gang member,
associate or affiliate in a shared gang database, or
submitting a document to the Attorney General's office for
the purpose of designating a person in a shared gang
database.
2. Requires local law enforcement to advise the minor and the
minor's parent or guardian of the basis for that designation
3. Defines "shared gang database" to mean any database that
allows access for more than one local law enforcement agency
and contains personal, identifying information in which a
person may be designated as a suspected gang member,
associate or affiliate.
Comments
The CalGang database, which is housed by the Department of
Justice (DOJ), is accessed by law enforcement officers in 58
counties, and contains personal, identifying information such as
age, race, photographs, tattoos, criminal associates, addresses,
vehicles, criminal histories, and activities. According to the
Youth Justice Coalition report, Tracked and Trapped: Youth of
Color, Gang Databases and Gang Injunctions (December 2012),
approximately 200,000 persons are listed on the CalGang
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database, with approximately 12% of those listed aged 19 years
or younger.
In addition to the CalGang database, the DOJ Web site indicates
11 regional databases maintained by local law enforcement
agencies in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Sonoma, San
Diego, Kern, Fresno, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Orange County.
Under existing law, if a minor is convicted of a gang-related
offense and tried as an adult or has had a petition sustained in
juvenile court, the parent or guardian must be notified of a
requirement to register with a local sheriff's office upon
release from custody or moving to a new city or county.
However, designation in the shared gang databases does not
require a conviction or sustained petition, and the designated
minor and minor's parent or guardian are not notified of the
listing. As a result, concerns have been expressed regarding
transparency, accountability, and the accuracy of records
entered into these shared gang databases.
This bill requires prior notification by local law enforcement
of a minor's designation in a shared gang database and the basis
for that designation, regardless of the conviction status of the
minor.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, potentially
state-reimbursable ongoing local law enforcement costs in excess
of $150,000 (General Fund) per year to notify minors and parents
prior to designation in a shared gang database.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/15/13)
Youth Justice Coalition (source)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
American Friends Service Committee
California Public Defenders Association
Children's Defense Fund - California
Congress of Racial Equality of California
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
National Juvenile Justice Network
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
The CalGang database has continued for 25 years without
accountability, notification of the individuals or
families watched, release of information or data to the
public or policy makers, or internal or independent
evaluations as to its effectiveness.
This bill requires local law enforcement departments to
notify youth when they are added to the CalGang Database,
and also requires that their parents or guardians be
notified.
If we want parents to properly help guide their kids away
from a life of crime, they need to be told of the
suspicion of law enforcement. There are youth as young as
ten years old on the CalGang database.
JG:d 5/15/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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