Report 2016-126 Recommendation 20 Responses

Report 2016-126: California Department of Social Services: Its Caregiver Background Check Bureau Lacks Criminal History Information It Needs to Protect Vulnerable Populations in Licensed Care Facilities (Release Date: March 2017)

Recommendation #20 To: Justice, Department of

To ensure that it is receiving all arrest information from law enforcement agencies, at a minimum, Justice should consider trends in the number of arrest reports each law enforcement agency sends it and the number of reports that it might expect to receive from an agency given the agency's size, location, and reporting history. Whenever Justice identifies a law enforcement agency that it determines may not be reporting all required information, it should request that the agency forward all required arrest information.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2019

California Penal Code sections 13151 and 11115 obligates courts and local enforcement agencies, respectively, to report arrests and dispositions to the DOJ. The DOJ has no responsibility to ensure that courts and local enforcement agencies comply with their reporting obligations. Nor does the DOJ have the resources required to assess the information it is receiving to formulate trends that could help determine what the DOJ should expect to receive from an agency given the agency size, location, and reporting history. Based on existing resources, the only means DOJ has to accommodate the recommendations is to continue its outreach/messaging efforts regarding disposition reporting obligations.

The DOJ remains engaged with the Legislature and criminal justice reform community on issues of missing criminal record information. On April 30, 2019, Asm. Bonta sent a letter to the Budget Committee Chairs requesting funding to enhance criminal records systems and met with the DOJ, Judicial Council, Californians for Safety and Justice, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, and Code for America. In response to his letter, the DOJ sent Asm. Bonta a plan to modernize the criminal history system and followed up by submitting a Budget Change Proposal for the planning and analysis to begin to modernize its criminal history related processes and technologies.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement

We continue to believe that Justice should implement our recommendation, which would likely increase the availability of criminal history information. However, Justice has indicated that it will not implement our recommendation.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From March 2019

California Penal Code sections 13151 and 11115 obligates courts and local enforcement agencies (LEAs), respectively, to report arrests and dispositions to DOJ. As previously mentioned, DOJ has no responsibility to ensure that courts and LEAs agencies comply with their reporting obligations. The DOJ is required to collect, compile, and disseminate that information, but does not have any practical means of ensuring that courts and LEAs report arrests and (complete) dispositions on a timely basis. Nor does the DOJ have the resources required to assess the information it is receiving to formulate trends that could help determine what DOJ should expect to receive from an agency given the agency size, location, and reporting history, as the CSA has recommended. Based on existing resources, the only means DOJ has to accommodate the recommendations offered by the CSA is to continue its outreach/messaging efforts regarding disposition reporting obligations, pursuant to statute. If DOJ was mandated to ensure that courts and local law enforcement agencies were complying with their reporting obligations, the DOJ would require additional resources.

Moreover, the DOJ is open to any statewide reforms that would improve compliance system-wide and, as previously discussed, already works with the Judicial Council and the LEA community to improve the flow of information, provide local training sessions, participate at statewide and regional training and technology conferences and seminars, and providing technical support to electronic disposition reporting agencies.

The DOJ will continue its efforts to reach out to the criminal justice community more quickly by exploring opportunities with other criminal justice association conference and committee venues. The DOJ also remains diligent in its pursuit of options to collect disposition information electronically and remains supportive of all statewide reforms or efforts to identify agency noncompliance with state law.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement

We continue to believe that Justice should implement our recommendation, which would likely increase the availability of criminal history information. However, Justice has indicated that it will not implement our recommendation.

1-Year Agency Response

The DOJ maintains its position that it has no obligation to ensure that courts and local enforcement agencies comply with their reporting obligations, nor does the DOJ have any practical means or resources to ensure courts and local enforcement agencies submit reports of arrests and dispositions as required by statute. The only means DOJ has to accommodate the recommendations offered by the CSA is to continue its outreach/messaging efforts regarding disposition reporting obligations, pursuant to statute.

The DOJ is committed to remaining engaged with the courts and local law enforcement agencies, to assist them in meeting their reporting obligations through local training sessions, participation at statewide and regional training and technology conferences and seminars, and providing technical support to electronic disposition reporting agencies.

In November 2017, the DOJ provided training to over 100 records supervisors at the 2017 CLEARS-California Law Enforcement Association of Records Supervisors, Inc.- Annual Training Technology Seminar. The training was well received, with requests for more information-sharing meetings in future. The DOJ will continue its efforts to reach the criminal justice community more quickly by exploring opportunities with other criminal justice association conference and committee venues. The DOJ also remains diligent in its pursuit of options to collect disposition information electronically and remains supportive of all statewide reforms or efforts to identify agency noncompliance with state law.

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

Justice repeats its perspective that it is not responsible for ensuring that courts and local enforcement agencies comply with their reporting obligations. Justice also indicates that it is beginning to take other actions to reach out to other agencies on this issue. However, Justice has not provided evidence that substantiates its claims.

6-Month Agency Response

As indicated in the DOJ's initial audit response, the DOJ is not charged with enforcing arrest and disposition-reporting requirements imposed on the courts and local enforcement agencies, nor does it have a program or resources or any practical means of ensuring that the courts and local enforcement agencies report arrests and dispositions in a timely manner. However, the DOJ is continuing to explore options to collect disposition information electronically and remains supportive of all statewide reforms or efforts to identify agency noncompliance with state law.

The only means DOJ has to assist in this effort is by providing outreach/messaging regarding disposition reporting obligations, pursuant to statute, with the focus on training and supporting agencies that utilize the DOJ's electronic disposition reporting services. The DOJ is leveraging its' partnerships with criminal justice association conference and committee venues to reach the criminal justice community more quickly. For example, in November 2017, the DOJ will host two sessions on disposition reporting at the California Law Enforcement Association of Record Supervisors (CLEARS) 44th Annual Training and Technology Seminar.

The DOJ is working to resource and implement the recommendations offered by the CSA, specifically a more complete criminal history repository including staff to provide internal/external training and staff to support electronic disposition reporting agencies.

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

60-Day Agency Response

As indicated in the DOJ's initial audit response, the DOJ is not charged with enforcing arrest and disposition-reporting requirements imposed on the courts and local enforcement agencies, nor does it have a program or resources or any practical means of ensuring that the courts and local enforcement agencies report arrests and dispositions in a timely manner. However, the DOJ has been exploring options to collect disposition information electronically, specifically a new on-line function by which an agency could submit "cite and release" information electronically, and remains willing to participate in any statewide reforms or efforts to identify agency noncompliance with state law.

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

Justice repeats its perspective that it is not responsible for ensuring that courts and local enforcement agencies comply with their reporting obligations. However, as we stated in our original report, Justice is the only entity that is aware of the extent to which courts and law enforcement agencies statewide are reporting and the timeliness of their reporting. Therefore, we continue to believe that Justice needs to participate in any effort to identify noncompliance with state law and remind entities that may not be reporting, or may not be promptly reporting, about their obligations. We look forward to hearing more from Justice in subsequent responses to this recommendation about how it is identifying gaps in the criminal history information it collects and following up with law enforcement agencies to ensure they forward all applicable information.

All Recommendations in 2016-126

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.