BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2524


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          Date of Hearing:   March 29, 2016
          Consultant:           Matt Dean


                         ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY


                       Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair





          AB  
                        2524 (Irwin) - As Amended  March 14, 2016




          SUMMARY:  Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue its  
          mandatory criminal justice statistics reports quarterly through  
          the OpenJustice Web Portal.  Specifically, this bill:   

          1)Requires DOJ to post, on the OpenJustice Web Portal, quarterly  
            criminal justice statistics relating to officer involved  
            incidents with the demographics of the individuals involved  
            and a description of the incident; case clearance rates;  
            juvenile delinquency; the disposition of civilian complaints;  
            the demographics of victims and individuals charged in  
            homicides; the incidents and demographics targeted by hate  
            crimes; the incidents and demographics of "stop and frisk"  
            detentions; the incidents and demographics of potential  
            profiling incidents; administrative actions taken by law  
            enforcement, prosecutorial, judicial, penal, and correctional  
            agencies; and other data leading to the apprehension,  
            prosecution, and treatment of the criminals and delinquents.

          2)Eliminates the use of paper cards or forms by law enforcement  
            agencies to submit required statistical data to DOJ.

          3)Eliminates DOJ's requirement to annually present a report on  
            criminal justice statistics to the Governor and the  








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            Legislature.

          4)Requires DOJ to add prosecutorial administrative actions to  
            its criminal justice statistics collection and summaries.

          EXISTING LAW:

          1)Requires DOJ to annually interpret and present crime  
            statistics, required to be reported by law enforcement and  
            other agencies and information, to the Governor.  (Pen. Code,  
            §§ 13010, subd. (g), 13020.)

          2)Requires DOJ to interpret and present statistics and  
            information to the Legislature and to those in charge or  
            concerned with of the apprehension, prosecution, and treatment  
            of the criminals and delinquents.  (Pen. Code, § 13012(b).)

          3)Allows the Attorney General to issue special reports on crime  
            statistics.  (Pen. Code, § 13010, subd. (g).)

          4)Requires the Racial and Identity Profiling Board (RIPA) to  
            annually analyze and report to the Attorney General statistics  
            collected from law enforcement agencies regarding citizen  
            complaints.  (Pen. Code, § 13012, subds.(a) and (c).)

          5)Requires the Attorney General to make available a sufficient  
            number of copies of both the required annual report on crime  
            statistics and any special reports.  (Pen. Code, § 13010,  
            subd. (g).)

          6)Requires DOJ to prepare and distribute to any person or agency  
            required to submit crime statistics the cards, forms, or  
            electronic means used in reporting data to the department. The  
            cards, forms, or electronic means may, in addition to other  
            items, include items of information needed by federal bureaus  
            or departments engaged in the development of national and  
            uniform criminal statistics.  (Pen. Code, § 13010, subd. (b).)

          7)Requires DOJ to periodically review the requirements of units  
            of government using criminal justice statistics, and to make  
            recommendations for changes it deems necessary in the design  
            of criminal justice statistics systems, including new  








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            techniques of collection and processing made possible by  
            automation.  (Pen. Code, § 13010, subd. (h).)

          8)Requires DOJ, beginning January 1, 2017, to issue an annual  
            summary of incidents reported by law enforcement including:

             a)   The shooting of a civilian by a peace officer;

             b)   The shooting of a peace officer by a civilian;

             c)   The use of force by a peace officer against a civilian  
               that results in serious bodily injury or death; and

             d)   The use of force by a civilian against a peace officer  
               that results in serious bodily injury or death; (Gov. Code,  
               § 12525.2, subds. (a) and (c).)

          9)Requires DOJ's annual summary of shootings of and by peace  
            officers, and of use of force by or against peace officers, to  
            include the number and demographics of those involved, if the  
            civilian was armed, the type of force used, and a description  
            of the incident, as provided.   (Gov. Code, § 12525.2, subds.  
            (a), (b) and (c).)

          10)Requires DOJ to collect data pertaining to the juvenile  
            justice system for criminal history and statistical purposes,  
            including all of the following:

             a)   The amount and the types of offenses known to the public  
               authorities;

             b)   The personal and social characteristics of criminals and  
               delinquents;

             c)   The administrative actions taken by law enforcement,  
               judicial, penal, and correctional agencies or institutions,  
               including those in the juvenile justice system, in dealing  
               with criminals or delinquents;

             d)   The administrative actions taken by law enforcement,  
               prosecutorial, judicial, penal, and correctional agencies  
               including those in the juvenile justice system, in dealing  








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               with minors who are the subject of a petition or hearing in  
               the juvenile court to transfer their case to the  
               jurisdiction of an adult criminal court or whose cases are  
               directly filed or otherwise initiated in an adult criminal  
               court; and

             e)   The total number of each of the following, disaggregated  
               by individual law enforcement agency, including whether the  
               disposition of the complaints was sustained, not sustained,  
               exonerated or unfounded, as defined:

               i)     Citizen complaints received by law enforcement  
                 agencies;

               ii)    Citizen complaints alleging criminal conduct of  
                 either a felony or misdemeanor; and

               iii)   Citizen complaints alleging racial or identity  
                 profiling, as defined. These statistics shall be  
                 disaggregated by the specific type of racial or identity  
                 profiling alleged, such as based on a consideration of  
                 race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender  
                 identity or expression, sexual orientation, or mental or  
                 physical disability.  (Pen. Code, §§ 832.5, 13012(a),  
                 13519.4.)

          11)Requires the annual report published by DOJ to include  
            information concerning arrests for identity theft.  (Pen.  
            Code, §§ 530.5, 13010, 13012.6.)

          12)Requires DOJ to maintain a data set, updated annually, that  
            contains the number of crimes reported, number of clearances  
            and clearance rates in California as reported by individual  
            law enforcement agencies for required-to-be-reported crimes.  
            The data set shall be made available through a prominently  
            displayed hypertext link on the Department's Internet Web site  
            or through the Department's OpenJustice data portal.  (Pen.  
            Code, §§ 13012, 13013.)

          13)Requires DOJ to perform the following duties concerning the  
            investigation and prosecution of homicide cases:









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             a)   Collect information on all persons who are the victims  
               of, and all persons who are charged with, homicide;

             b)   Adopt and distribute as a written form or by electronic  
               means to all state and governmental entities that are  
               responsible for the investigation and prosecution of  
               homicide cases forms that will include information to be  
               provided to the department; and 

             c)   Compile, collate, index, and maintain an electronic file  
               of the information regarding victims of and those charged  
               with homicide into a report available to the public.  (Pen.  
               Code, §13014.)

          14)Requires local law enforcement agencies to report to DOJ, in  
            a manner prescribed by the Attorney General, any information  
            that may be required relative to hate crimes so that the  
            Department can report, on or before July 1 of each year, the  
            Department's analysis to the Legislature.  (Pen. Code, §§  
            422.55, 13023.)

          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown

          COMMENTS:  

          1)Author's Statement:  According to the author, "AB 2524 will  
            modernize California's collection and publication of criminal  
            justice data.  The OpenJustice Data Act builds upon Attorney  
            General Kamala Harris's open data initiative to improve and  
            empower the public's access to local and statewide crime  
            statistics.

            "AB 2524 will reinvent Crime in California and other annual  
            reports published by the California DOJ as digital data sets  
            within the Attorney General's OpenJustice Web portal.  These  
            reports provide statistical summaries including numbers of  
            arrests, complaints against peace officers, hate crime  
            offenses, and law enforcement officers killed or assaulted;  
            however, the static nature of these print publications means  
            that data often lacks context.  The OpenJustice Web portal  
            will alchemize this information with interactive, accessible  
            visualization tools, while making raw data available for  








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            public interest researchers.



            "Additionally, AB 2524 will bring the state's data collection  
            into the 21st century by requiring local law enforcement  
            agencies to submit all currently required statistical reports  
            digitally.  Despite the fact that electronic reporting  
            provides for more accurate and efficient data submission, as  
            many as 60% of local agencies still submit required data to  
            the California DOJ on paper.  The OpenJustice Data Act will  
            direct all agencies to transition into digital reporting,  
            which will allow for more frequent updates to statistics  
            contained within the Web portal.
            "DOJ first launched the OpenJustice initiative in 2015 as a  
            mechanism for improving community trust in law enforcement,  
            enhancing government accountability, and informing public  
            policy. In early 2016 the Attorney General announced the  
            release of OpenJustice 1.1, which enriched the Web portal's  
            initial data sets with city, county, and state level context  
            including population and demographic information, unemployment  
            rates, poverty rates, and educational attainment levels.  In  
            addition to providing greater transparency, this information  
            enables policymakers to craft informed, data-driven public  
            policy."

          2)Summary:  Various provisions of the Government and Penal Codes  
            require DOJ to collect, analyze, and report on criminal  
            justice statistics.  Each individual law enforcement agency  
            must report criminal justice statistics to DOJ so DOJ can both  
            aggregate the data to present a statewide overview and to  
            present data on each individual law enforcement agency.   
            Currently, the agency's statistics may be submitted by paper  
            forms and cards.  The statistics which agencies are required  
            to report include:  officer involved incidents with the  
            demographics of the individuals involved and a description of  
            the incident, case clearance rates, juvenile delinquency, the  
            disposition of civilian complaints, the demographics of  
            victims and individuals charged in homicides, the incidents  
            and demographics targeted by hate crimes, the incidents and  
            demographics of "stop and frisk" detentions, the incidents and  
            demographics of potential profiling incidents, and other data  








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            leading to the apprehension, prosecution, and treatment of the  
            criminals and delinquents.  

          Separate provisions require DOJ to prepare a summary of these  
            criminal justice statistics every year in reports to the  
            Governor and the Legislature, and otherwise make the data and  
            reports available to the public.  This bill requires law  
            enforcement agencies to submit their statistics by electronic  
            means only, and require DOJ to post the raw statistics and  
            their summaries quarterly -rather than annually- on the  
            OpenJustice Web Portal, which is easily accessible by the  
            Governor, the Legislature and the public.  

          3)Argument in Support:  According to Attorney General Kamala  
            Harris, "California has a long history of supporting criminal  
            justice data. When DOJ was first created in 1944 and given  
            control over the state's criminal identification services,  
            Attorney General Robert Kenny created a Bureau of Criminal  
            Statistics to leverage this information to provide statistical  
            insight into public safety issues. In 1955, legislation was  
            enacted requiring the bureau to provide 'a printed annual  
            report containing the criminal statistics of the preceding  
            calendar year,' as well as additional reports on 'special  
            aspects of criminal statistics.' This publication has become  
            known as Crime in California, and has served as an important  
            resource for researchers and lawmakers. 



          "The state has changed dramatically over the past six decades.  
            The advent of new analytic technologies has only further  
            illuminated the value of using reliable data to guide public  
            policy. Meanwhile, the internet has empowered Californians  
            with greater access to information than at any other point in  
            history, enabling everyday residents to learn about the world  
            they live in. However, statutes governing the state's  
            publication of crime data remain substantially the same. Data  
            pertaining to the work of public safety in communities remains  
            largely inaccessible to most residents, contained in pages of  
            numerical tables published in paper reports and reproduced  
            through static downloadable files. 









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          "In 2015, Attorney General Harris announced the launch of a new  
            initiative called OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind open data  
            Web portal designed to make previously obscured information  
            available to the public through an interactive, easy-to-use  
            web interface. This 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 complete raw datasets. 

          "The core mission of OpenJustice was to increase public safety  
            transparency by making information both available and  
            digestible to the general public. The initial datasets  
            released through OpenJustice included Law Enforcement Officers  
            Killed or Assaulted in the Line of Duty; Deaths in Custody;  
            and Arrests and Bookings. Earlier this year, OpenJustice 1.1  
            was launched to add more local context to this data, such as  
            population and demographic information. The OpenJustice Data  
            Act would revolutionize the public's access to information  
            about the criminal justice system by reinventing the Attorney  
            General's traditional printed reports as datasets within the  
            OpenJustice Data portal. The bill will enable Californians to  
            review the statistical information most important to them in  
            context, using dynamic, interactive tools, rather than rely on  
            preselected, prepackaged summaries. AB 2524 will truly  
            democratize public safety data, significantly strengthening  
            trust in law enforcement. 

          "AB 2524 will also modernize the way the state collects this  
            information from locals. Despite the continuing development of  
            digital technologies, as many as 60% of local agencies still  
            report their criminal justice statistics to DOJ on paper; this  
            bill will direct those agencies to submit electronically. By  
            transitioning to an entirely digital reporting process,  
            statewide data collection will be more efficient, accurate,  
            and considerate of the environment."

          4)Argument in Opposition:  According to the California State  
            Sheriff's Association, "While we appreciate your desire to  
            increase efficiency and the use of technology, we are  
            concerned that this bill represents a significant unfunded  
            mandate on law enforcement agencies.  It has been reported  
            that at least 60% of agencies do no report electronically and  








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            enacting this bill will create massive cost pressures to  
            acquire technology, secure storage space, and train staff on  
            the new requirements imposed by this bill.



          "Additionally, AB 2524 contemplates quarterly reporting where  
            many statistics are currently reported annually.  Not only  
            will this increase workload, but it must be considered in the  
            context of all of the reporting that is currently mandated,  
            including new requirements on reporting of racial profiling  
            and use of force data.

          5)Related Legislation: 



             a)   SB 1075 (Runner) would require DOJ's report to the  
               Governor to include statistics on child molestation, as  
               defined, in the same format and within the same tables that  
               report on the number, rate per 100,000 population, and  
               percentage change in other violent crimes, including rape.   
               SB 1075 is pending in the Senate Committee on Public  
               Safety.

             b)   SB 1031 (Hancock)  would require the Board of State and  
               Community Corrections, on or before July 1, 2019, to  
               establish a Juvenile Justice Information System to develop  
               and maintain statewide statistical information, as  
               specified. SB 1031 would additionally, on January 1, 2020,  
               remove the requirement that DOJ collect information  
               regarding the juvenile justice system.  SB 1031 is pending  
               in the Senate Committee on Public Safety.



             c)   AB 1654 (Santiago) would require the State Auditor to  
               include in this audit an evaluation of the institutions'  
               compliance with state law governing crime reporting and the  
               development and implementation of student safety policies  
               and procedures, and require DOJ, commencing July 1, 2017,  
               to provide guidance to and develop model protocols for  








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               California's public and private institutions of higher  
               education and systemwide offices of public institutions of  
               higher education regarding student safety state laws.  AB  
               1654 is pending in the Assembly Committee on  
               Appropriations.



          6)Prior Legislation:  

             a)   AB 953 (Weber), Chapter 466, Statutes of 2015, enacted  
               the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, which  
               revised the definition of racial profiling to instead refer  
               to racial or identity profiling. Specified law enforcement  
               agencies are required to report on all stops, as defined.

             b)   AB 71 (Rodriguez), Chapter 462, Statutes of 2015,  
               requires each law enforcement agency to annually furnish to  
               DOJ a report of specified incidents when a peace officer is  
               involved in the use of force, as defined.

          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

          Support
          
          Attorney General Kamala Harris

          Opposition
          
          California State Sheriffs' Association

          Analysis Prepared  
          by:              Matt Dean / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744

















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