BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 71 Hearing Date: July 14, 2015
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|Author: |Rodriguez |
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|Version: |July 6, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|JRD |
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Subject: Criminal Justice: Reporting
HISTORY
Source: Author
Prior Legislation:None known
Support: California Police Chiefs Association; California
Public Defenders Association; Legal Services for
Prisoners with Children; Los Angeles Urban League
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: 80 - 0
PURPOSE
The purpose of this legislation is to require law enforcement
agencies to report all instances when a peace officer is
involved in: 1) an incident involving the shooting of a civilian
by a peace officer; 2) an incident involving the shooting of a
peace officer by a civilian; 3) an incident in which the use of
force by a peace officer against a civilian results in serious
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bodily injury or death; and 4) an incident in which use of force
by a civilian against a peace officer results in serious bodily
injury or death, as specified.
Existing law provides that it is the duty of each city marshal,
chief of police, railroad and steamship police, sheriff,
coroner, district attorney, city attorney and city prosecutor
having criminal jurisdiction, as well as other agencies or
persons dealing with crimes and criminals or with delinquency or
delinquents, when requested by the Attorney General (AG):
To install and maintain records needed for the correct
reporting of statistical data required by the AG;
To report statistical data to the Department of Justice
(DOJ) at those times and in the manner that the AG
proscribes; and,
To give to the AG, or his or her accredited agent,
access to the statistical data for the purpose of carrying
out the purposes of carrying out the relevant law.
(Penal Code § 13020.)
Existing law requires each sheriff and chief of police to
annually furnish the DOJ, in the manner prescribed by the
Attorney General, a report of all justifiable homicides
committed in his or her jurisdiction. In cases where both a
sheriff and chief of police would be required to report a
justifiable homicide under this section, only the chief of
police shall report the homicide. (Penal Code § 13022.)
Existing law states that, subject to the availability of
adequate funding, the AG shall direct local law enforcement
agencies to report to DOJ, in a manner to be prescribed by the
AG, any information that may be required relative to hate
crimes, as specified, and requires, on or before July 1 of each
year, DOJ to submit a report to the Legislature analyzing the
results of the information obtained from local law enforcement
agencies. (Penal Code § 13023(a) and (b).)
Existing law includes within DOJ's annual reporting requirements
the number of citizens' complaints received by law enforcement
agencies. These statistics shall indicate the total number of
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these complaints, the number alleging criminal conduct of either
a felony or misdemeanor, and the number sustained in each
category. The report shall not contain a reference to any
individual agency but shall be by gross numbers only. (Penal
Code § 13012(e).)
Existing law mandates in any case in which a person dies while
in the custody of any law enforcement agency or while in custody
in a local or state correctional facility in this state, the law
enforcement agency or the agency in charge of the correctional
facility shall report in writing to the AG, within 10 days after
the death, all facts in the possession of the law enforcement
agency or agency in charge of the correctional facility
concerning the death. Proscribes that these writings are public
records within the meaning of the California Public Records Act
and are open to public inspection, except confidential medical
information. (Government Code § 12525.)
This bill would require, beginning January 1, 2017, each law
enforcement agency to annually furnish to the Department of
Justice, in a manner defined and prescribed by the Attorney
General, a report of all instances when a peace officer employed
by that agency is involved in any of the following:
An incident involving the shooting of a civilian by a
peace officer;
An incident involving the shooting of a peace officer by
a civilian;
An incident in which the use of force by a peace officer
against a civilian results in serious bodily injury or
death; or
An incident in which use of force by a civilian against
a peace officer results in serious bodily injury or death.
This bill would require, for each incident reported, law
enforcement to report, at a minimum:
The gender, race, and age of each individual who was
shot, injured, or killed;
The date, time, and location of the incident;
Whether the civilian was armed, and, if so, the type of
weapon the civilian had;
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The type of force used against the officer, the
civilian, or both, including the types of weapons used;
The number of officers involved in the incident;
The number of civilians involved in the incident; and,
A brief description regarding the circumstances
surrounding the incident which may include the nature of
injuries to officers and civilians and perceptions on
behavior or mental disorders.
This bill requires the DOJ to include a summary of information
contained in the reports received pursuant to this legislation
in its annual crime report issued by the department pursuant to
Section 13010. This information shall be classified according to
the reporting law enforcement jurisdiction. In cases involving a
peace officer who is injured or killed, the report shall list
the officer's employing jurisdiction and the jurisdiction where
the injury or death occurred, if they are not the same.
This bill defines "serious bodily injury" as "bodily injury that
involves a substantial risk of death, unconsciousness,
protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or
impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ."
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the past eight years, this Committee has scrutinized
legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential
impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States
Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the
state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care
to its inmate population and the related issue of prison
overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a
content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that
the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison
overcrowding.
On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to
reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of
design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
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137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
In February of this year the administration reported that as "of
February 11, 2015, 112,993 inmates were housed in the State's 34
adult institutions, which amounts to 136.6% of design bed
capacity, and 8,828 inmates were housed in out-of-state
facilities. This current population is now below the
court-ordered reduction to 137.5% of design bed capacity." (
Defendants' February 2015 Status Report In Response To February
10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman
v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).
While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison
population, the state now must stabilize these advances and
demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place
the
"durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently
demanded" by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and
Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December
31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,
Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee's
consideration of bills that may impact the prison population
therefore will be informed by the following questions:
Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed
to reducing the prison population;
Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy;
Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or
legislative drafting error; and
Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy.
COMMENTS
1. Need for Legislation
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According to the author:
Several incidents of police involvement in the deaths
of individuals, has resulted in national protests,
civil unrest and even the targeting and death of peace
officers.
These events have sparked a vigorous debate about law
enforcement's relationship with minority communities
and police use of force doctrine and what can be done
to improve confidence and safety of our citizens and
law enforcement.
There is unfortunately, no statewide database that
contains reliable statistics on officers involved in
shootings or officers who have been wounded or killed.
Without this information we are left with anecdotal
reports or information that is often taken out of
context.
While many California law enforcement agencies
currently release an officer involved shooting report
to their local communities, they do not submit this
information to a centralized database. These reports
generally do not track the shooting death and injury
of law enforcement officers.
As a result, there is no statewide database on officer
involved shootings. Not having an overall picture in
the state results in some reported events being
anecdotal or out of context.
AB 71 was introduced to collect needed statistics and to
start a dialogue as to what California needs to do to
increase community and officer safety and to improve
confidence in law our enforcement agencies and personnel.
AB 71 will provide much needed data on officer
involved shootings in California. This will allow the
state to study the issue and to appropriately adjust
law enforcement training and procedures as needed.
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Through better training standards from POST (Peace
Officer Standards and Training) we can improve
outcomes and foster better relations and confidence
with our communities.
AB 71 will also track data on an officer involved
shooting where it is the law enforcement officer that
is shot and killed or injured. Law enforcement work
is dangerous and our peace officers are often placed
in situations that involve life and death decisions.
Tracking shootings of law enforcement officers will
give California an idea what our law enforcement
officers are facing on the street.
I have begun discussions with the Department of Justice,
law enforcement agencies and rank and file peace officers
to create a reporting and tracking system that will improve
training and response and will ensure that our communities
are safe.
2. President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing
On December 18, 2014, amid protests in Ferguson, Missouri, where
a grand jury declined to criminally charge police officer Darren
Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, President Barack
Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the Task Force on
21st Century Policing. "The mission of the task force was to
examine how to foster strong, collaborative relationships
between local law enforcement and the communities they protect
and to make recommendations to the President on how policing
practices can promote effective crime reduction while building
public trust. The president selected members of the task force
based on their ability to contribute to its mission because of
their relevant perspective, experience, or subject matter
expertise in policing, law enforcement and community relations,
civil rights, and civil liberties." (U.S. Department of
Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Service, Interim
Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing
(Mar. 2015), at 1.)
In addressing the issue of transparency, the task force
recommended that law enforcement agencies should make all
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department policies available for public review and regularly
post on the department's website information about stops,
summonses, arrests, reported crime, and other law enforcement
data aggregated by demographics. (Id. at 11.) Additionally, the
task force recommended that when serious incidents occur,
including those involving alleged police misconduct, agencies
should communicate with citizens and the media swiftly, openly,
and neutrally, respecting areas where the law requires
confidentiality. (Id.)
3. "Police Reporting Information, Data, and Evidence Act of
2015"
On June 2, 2015, U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Cory Booker
introduced the Police Reporting of Information, Data and
Evidence Act:
This legislation that would bring transparency and
accountability to law enforcement agencies nationwide
by requiring states to report to the Justice
Department on any incident in which a law enforcement
officer is involved in a shooting, and any other
instance where use of force by or against a law
enforcement officer or civilian results in serious
bodily injury or death. This information would help
federal, state and local officials to better protect
the public and law enforcement officers.
The PRIDE Act was introduced the same week that a
Washington Post report revealed that 385 people were
shot and killed by police nationwide since January -
more than two a day. That number is more than twice
the rate of fatal police shootings tallied by the
federal government over the past decade, because there
are currently no comprehensive federal programs to
collect data on law enforcement-involved shootings and
use of force. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) captures data on justifiable homicides by law
enforcement officers, but reporting is voluntary and
limited to instances in which a civilian is killed
while committing a felony.
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Similarly, there is no mandated reporting to the
federal government on law enforcement officers killed
or injured in the line of duty. So far, 54 officers
have been killed in the line of duty and 14 officers
have been shot and killed by suspects since January,
according to data compiled by the Officer Down
Memorial Page.
"Too many members of the public and police officers
are being killed, and we don't have reliable
statistics to track these tragic incidents," Senator
Boxer said. "This bill will ensure that we know the
full extent of the problem so we can save lives on all
sides."
"The first step in fixing a problem is understanding
the extent of the problem you have. Justice and
accountability go hand in hand -- but without reliable
data it's difficult to hold people accountable or
create effective policies that change the status quo,"
Senator Booker said. "Our legislation is vital to
ensuring we have the data required to make good
decisions and implement reform measures that are
balanced, objective, and protect the lives of police
officers and the public."
The Boxer-Booker measure would require states to
report to the Attorney General on use-of-force
incidents involving officers and the public that
result in serious bodily injury or death. The reports
must include, at a minimum:
The gender, race, ethnicity, and age of
each individual who was shot, injured, or killed;
The date, time, and location of the
incident;
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The number of officers and number of
civilians involved in the incident;
Whether the civilian was armed with a
weapon; and
The type of force used against the
officer, the civilian, or both, including the
types of weapons used.
Additionally, the bill would provide grants for tip
lines and hotlines to gain information regarding
shootings and use of force incidents against the
police. Grants may also support state efforts to
develop use of force training for law enforcement
agencies and personnel, including de-escalation and
bias training.
There is growing momentum for better data collection
on the use of force in police departments nationwide.
(https://www.boxer.senate.gov/press/release/boxer-booke
r-introduce-bill-to-bring-transparency-and-accountabili
ty-to-police-departments-nationwide/.)
Assembly Bill 71 would require local law enforcement to collect
information that is consistent with the information that would
be required by the federal legislation.
4. Criminal Statistics in California
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DOJ is statutorily required to collect and maintain data and
develop statistical reports related to crime and the criminal
justice process in California. Local agencies are also
statutorily required to maintain statistical data and provide
those to DOJ.
Under existing law, local law enforcement agencies are required
to report to DOJ all justifiable homicides committed in that
agency's jurisdiction. (Penal Code § 13022.) Local
jurisdictions must also report on the number of non-criminal and
criminal complaints reported by citizens against law enforcement
personnel and the number of complaints that were sustained.
(Penal Code § 13012.) Arrest information from local agencies
must also be provided to DOJ in order to maintain its arrest and
citation database. (Penal Code §§ 13020 and 13021.) This
database contains information including name, race/ethnicity,
date of birth, sex, date of arrest, offense level, offense type,
status of the offense, and law enforcement disposition. (Office
of the Attorney General, Criminal Statistics Reporting
Requirements (April 2014), at 8.) Using statistical data from
local jurisdictions, DOJ publishes an annual report on crime.
(Penal Code § 13010.)
Local law enforcement is also required to, in any case in which
a person dies while in the custody of the law enforcement,
report in writing to DOJ, within 10 days after the death, all
facts in the possession of the law enforcement agency or agency
in charge of the correctional facility concerning the death.
(Government Code § 12525.) This legislation would,
additionally, require law enforcement agencies to report all
instances when a peace officer is involved in:
Any incident involving the shooting of a civilian by a
law enforcement officer;
Any incident involving the shooting of a law enforcement
officer by a civilian;
Any incident in which use of force by a law enforcement
officer against a civilian results in serious bodily injury
or death.
Any incident in which use of force by a civilian against
a law enforcement officer results in serious bodily injury
or death.
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DOJ would be required to provide this information in its annual
report on crime.
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