Report 2015-130 Recommendation 26 Responses

Report 2015-130: The CalGang Criminal Intelligence System: As the Result of Its Weak Oversight Structure, It Contains Questionable Information That May Violate Individuals' Privacy Rights (Release Date: August 2016)

Recommendation #26 To: Santa Ana Police Department

Until Santa Ana Police Department receives further direction from the board, the committee, or Justice, it should address the specific deficiencies we found by developing or modifying as necessary all its policies and procedures related to CalGang to ensure they align with state law, CalGang policy, the federal regulations, and the state guidelines. In particular, the agency should implement appropriate policies and procedures for entering gangs; performing supervisory reviews of gang and gang member entries; performing periodic CalGang record reviews; sharing CalGang information; and complying with juvenile notification requirements. The agency should complete this recommendation by March 31, 2017.

1-Year Agency Response

Audit Response - Policy and Procedure

I. SAPD has fully implemented a policy and procedure for criminal intelligence systems.

II. The policy and procedure are designed to meet the required legal and policy mandates identified in the audit recommendations.

III. SAPD's policy and procedure identifies a systematic process for supervisory review and quality control review of gang and gang member entries into the CalGang system.

IV. The policy and procedure provides specific direction regarding CalGang entries and the adult and juvenile contestation processes.

V. SAPD is communicating the policy and procedure for criminal intelligence systems to all department personnel via internal communication and training platforms.

VI. SAPD will utilize the CalGang system's proxy features to track sharing of CalGang information.

VII. SAPD has developed and disseminated a refresher course regarding the CalGang Proxy Login Function to all current SAPD CalGang users. This function is covered in the CalGang User Certification Course provided by the node administrator. We are currently using an internal training platform to disseminate and track department training communicated electronically.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

We reviewed Santa Ana's August 2017 procedures and guidelines for shared gang databases, as well as related policies and trainings, and confirmed that this recommendation has been fully implemented as described by the agency in their one-year response.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From March 2017

I. The Santa Ana Police Department has developed a policy and procedure for criminal intelligence systems; specifically CalGang.

II. The Santa Ana Police Department's criminal intelligence systems (CalGang) procedure provides process for entering criminal street gangs into CalGang.

III. The Santa Ana Police Department's policy and procedure identifies a systematic process for supervisory review and quality control review of gang and gang member entries into CalGang.

IV. The Santa Ana Police Department will utilize CalGang's proxy feature to track sharing of CalGang information. SAPD CalGang users will receive annual training on this requirement/feature beginning April 2017.

V. The Santa Ana Police Department's juvenile notification forms have been revised to reflect amended law requirements.

VI. The Santa Ana Police Department's Criminal Intelligence Systems (CalGang) Policy and Procedure, and the revised juvenile notification form have been provided to the California State Auditor's Office.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

The criminal intelligence systems policy and procedures Santa Ana shared with us was in draft form. According to the Crimes Against Persons Commander, Santa Ana has implemented the procedures but anticipates modifying the policy and procedures as Santa Ana identifies areas needing improvement. The Commander stated that, once Santa Ana has worked through any issues with the policy and procedures, the Chief of Police will approve it and announce the policy department wide.

6-Month Agency Response

The previous recommendation update indicated completion dates in January 2017. Due to a delay in the hiring of new personnel, the January completion will be delayed until March 31, 2017.

The "Estimated Completion Date" of March 31, 2017 date will remain as our target date.

As of today, the Santa Ana Police Department has hired and assigned a dedicated employee to oversee the recommendations. This will improve the Department's capabilities to complete the recommendations and meet the deadline/target dates.

I. Create policy/procedure for Criminal Intelligence files. This process is already in progress and the fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of March 2017.

II. Incorporate into the Lexipol procedure a systematic method for criminal street gang entries into CalGang and establish a supervisory review process for gangs and gang member inclusion. The fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of March 2017.

III. Lexipol procedure will create a recurring CalGang entry and document review for gang and gang member entries. The fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of March 2017.

IV. A database and/or spreadsheet will be utilized to track any criminal intelligence shared from CalGang by authorized internal and external partners. The fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of March 2017.

V. A review of the current juvenile notification form language will be conducted. The fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of March 2017.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

I. Identify the appropriate Lexipol policy to use as a foundation for the Department's future policy. Collaborate with the City Attorney's Office to ensure policy align with state law, CalGang policy, the federal regulations, and the state guidelines. This process is already in progress and the fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of January 2017.

II. Incorporate into the Lexipol procedure a systematic method for criminal street gang entries into CalGang and establish a supervisory review process for gangs and gang member inclusion. This process is already in progress as well and the fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of January 2017.

III. Lexipol procedure will create a recurring CalGang entry and document review for gang and gang member entries. The fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of February 2017.

IV. A database and/or spreadsheet will be utilized to track any criminal intelligence shared from CalGang by authorized internal and external partners. This process will also be included in the Lexipol procedure. The fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of March 2017.

V. A review of the current juvenile notification form language will be conducted. A decision on whether to change the language (i.e., list specific activity used for inclusion) will be made to ensure the Department is in full compliance with the law. The fulfillment of this recommendation has an estimated completion date of January 2017.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2015-130

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.