Report 2017-131 Recommendations

To help ensure that officers can identify and document that hate crimes have occurred, POST should send training materials to all POST-certified law enforcement agencies in the State for these agencies to use in refresher training for their officers.

To ensure its hate crime training effectively communicates information essential to properly identifying and addressing hate crimes, POST should evaluate its hate crime courses periodically. It should also seek resources to implement these efforts, if necessary.

To ensure that it receives complete and accurate data, DOJ should, by May 2019, develop and maintain a list of law enforcement agencies that it updates annually, obtain hate crime data from all law enforcement agencies, distribute additional guidance to those agencies on procedures for reporting hate crimes, and conduct periodic reviews of law enforcement agencies to ensure that the data they report are accurate. It should also seek the resources to implement these efforts, if necessary.

To ensure that all state law enforcement agencies are aware of the support available to help them investigate hate crimes, DOJ should engage in outreach efforts to increase awareness of its response team.

To increase the effectiveness of hate crime prevention and response efforts, DOJ should provide additional guidance to law enforcement agencies by adding region-specific data fields to the hate crime database, including items such as the zip code in which reported hate crimes took place and other fields that DOJ determines will support its outreach efforts.

To increase the effectiveness of hate crime prevention and response efforts, DOJ should provide additional guidance to law enforcement agencies by analyzing reported hate crimes in various regions in the State and sending advisory notices when it detects hate crimes happening across multiple jurisdictions. It should also seek the resources to implement these efforts, if necessary.

To increase the effectiveness of hate crime prevention and response efforts, DOJ should provide additional guidance to law enforcement agencies by creating and disseminating outreach materials so law enforcement agencies can better engage with their communities.

To increase the effectiveness of hate crime prevention and response efforts, DOJ should provide additional guidance to law enforcement agencies by creating and making available training materials for law enforcement agencies on how best to identify and respond to hate crimes.

To ensure that law enforcement agencies effectively engage with communities regarding hate crimes, DOJ should provide guidance and best practices for law enforcement agencies to follow when conducting hate crime outreach to vulnerable communities within their jurisdictions, such as collaborating with a county human rights commission. It should make the outreach materials available to law enforcement agencies and should include in them presentation materials for various types of communities, including immigrants and Muslims, among others. It should seek the resources to implement these efforts, if necessary.

To address the increase in hate crimes reported in California, the Legislature should require DOJ to add region-specific data fields to the hate crime database, including items such as the zip code in which the reported hate crimes took place as well as other fields that DOJ determines will support its outreach efforts.

To address the increase in hate crimes reported in California, the Legislature should require DOJ to analyze reported hate crimes in various regions in the State and send advisory notices to law enforcement agencies when it detects hate crimes happening across multiple jurisdictions.

To address the increase in hate crimes reported in California, the Legislature should require DOJ to create and disseminate outreach materials so law enforcement agencies can better engage with their communities.

To address the increase in hate crimes reported in California, the Legislature should require DOJ to create and make available training materials for law enforcement agencies on how best to identify and respond to hate crimes.

To address the increase in hate crimes reported in California, the Legislature should require DOJ to implement a school-based program, in conjunction with representation from local law enforcement agencies, aimed at educating communities to identify and confront issues of bias, prejudice, and harassment.

To ensure that hate crime training for law enforcement is effective, the Legislature should require POST to evaluate its hate crime training.

To ensure that they accurately identify and report hate crimes, SFSU Police and LA Police should update their hate crime policies and procedures, and the Orange County Sheriff and Stanislaus County Sheriff should implement supplemental hate crime reports and require officers to use them.

To ensure accurate and complete reporting, LA Police and SFSU Police should provide sufficient guidance and oversight to their officers and staff so that they report all hate crimes to DOJ.

To ensure that they accurately identify and report hate crimes, SFSU Police and LA Police should update their hate crime policies and procedures, and the Orange County Sheriff and Stanislaus County Sheriff should implement supplemental hate crime reports and require officers to use them.

To ensure that they accurately identify and report hate crimes, SFSU Police and LA Police should update their hate crime policies and procedures, and the Orange County Sheriff and Stanislaus County Sheriff should implement supplemental hate crime reports and require officers to use them.

To ensure accurate and complete reporting, LA Police and SFSU Police should provide sufficient guidance and oversight to their officers and staff so that they report all hate crimes to DOJ.

To ensure that they accurately identify and report hate crimes, SFSU Police and LA Police should update their hate crime policies and procedures, and the Orange County Sheriff and Stanislaus County Sheriff should implement supplemental hate crime reports and require officers to use them.