Report 2017-131 Recommendation 4 Responses

Report 2017-131: Hate Crimes in California: Law Enforcement Has Not Adequately Identified, Reported, or Responded to Hate Crimes (Release Date: May 2018)

Recommendation #4 To: Justice, Department of

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.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From May 2023

The California DOJ has implemented the new California Incident Based Reporting System (CIBRS)which includes the collection of Zip Code with each hate crime incident reported. The ArcGIS license was acquired and the Heat Map is currently in development. The completion of the analysis and subsequent advisory are dependent upon all LEAs being able to report the data to the new CIBRS repository.

The transition to incident-based reporting (IBR) requires reporting law enforcement agencies obtain record management system (RMS) upgrades or a new one altogether. Since this was largely an unfunded transition, many LEAs were not able to and have still not either obtained the appropriate funding or approvals from their local funding source. We currently have 853 unique ORIs identified for IBR reporting and here are the breakdowns of their current status:

Certified Agencies: 224

Pending Certification: 339

Testing: 54

Upcoming Implementation Projected 2023: 139

Upcoming Implementation Projected 2024: 8

Developing RFP/RFP Pending: 51

No Movement: 37

In addition to lacking a complete data set, DOJ's ability to perform a useful analysis is impeded by inconsistent data entries at the local LEA level.

Not all agencies who submit IBR data are in the same regions and LEAs transition on a rotating basis. We estimate we will be able to begin some analysis using the 2023 statistical year data and will be able to increase analyses and issuing advisories through 2024 and 2025.

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From June 2022

As previously mentioned in 2021, DOJ implemented the zip code feature and is in the process of collecting data pertaining to the local law enforcement agencies that have transitioned to incident-based reporting. After it has finalized its purchase of an ArcGIS license, the DOJ can enable the Heat Map.

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From June 2021

We have established the CIBRS repository including a zip code field which will allow us to look at data at a more granular level. This will enable us to identify similar crime types and work with the LEAs. At this point, we are limited by what data can be submitted due to the LEA's RMS. Given the transition to NIBRS/CIBRS was an unfunded effort, we are making rapid progress but not all LEAs are transitioned or have the funding to transition. As resources permits, we are in the process of onboarding LEAs as their RMS are updated to collect and submit the new data format for CIBRS. The onboarding process for LEAs to submit the new data will continue through 2022.

To further assists the LEAs and the public in understanding the trends in hate crime incidents, information reported to DOJ is available for download on the OpenJustice data portal under "Hate Crimes": https://openjustice.doj.ca.gov/data.

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

Although DOJ has updated CIBRS to allow LEAs to include the zip code where the hate crime occured, its response does not indicate that it is analyzing reported hate crimes in various regions in the State and sending advisory notices when it detects hate crimes happening across multiple jurisdictions.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2020

The DOJ is currently under contract with a repository vendor and has included requirements for specialized queries and reporting capabilities in the CIBRS to detect hate crimes taking place in multiple jurisdictions. The DOJ anticipates that analysts hired in 2020 will use CIBRS on a quarterly basis to identify potential patterns, hot spots, and cross-jurisdiction incidents and, distribute notices to applicable LEAs and elected officials. The DOJ is currently in the process of onboarding pilot agencies to begin the FBI's NIBRS certification process.

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From May 2020

The DOJ is currently under contract with a repository vendor and has included requirements for specialized queries and reporting capabilities in the CIBRS to detect hate crimes taking place in multiple jurisdictions. The DOJ anticipates that analysts hired in 2020 will use CIBRS on a quarterly basis to identify potential patterns, hot spots, and cross-jurisdiction incidents and, distribute notices to applicable LEAs and elected officials.

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2019

The DOJ is currently under contract with a repository vendor and has included requirements for specialized queries and reporting capabilities in the CIBRS to detect hate crimes taking place in multi jurisdictions. We anticipate that the DOJ analysts hired this year will use this on a quarterly basis to identify potential patterns, hot spots, and cross-jurisdiction incidents and distribute notices to the relevant LEAs and elected officials.

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

1-Year Agency Response

We continue to work through the budget process to obtain additional resources needed to implement this recommendation. As resources become available, the DOJ will incorporate business rules and requirements into the specifications for the California Incident Based Reporting System (CIBRS) repository to accommodate these tasks. Governor Newsom's budget released in January 2019 allocated additional resources to DOJ, however the budget must still be approved by the Legislature.

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

6-Month Agency Response

We are working through the budget process and as resources become available, the DOJ will incorporate business rules and requirements into the specifications for the California Incident Based Reporting System (CIBRS) repository to accommodate these tasks

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

60-Day Agency Response

DOJ will incorporate business rules and requirements into the specifications for the California Incident Based Reporting System (CIBRS) repository to accommodate these tasks which will require additional resources and funding.

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

We understand that the implementation of this recommendation will coincide with DOJ's transition to incident-based reporting through the FBI's National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and California Incident Based Reporting System (CIBRS) in 2021. We look forward to reviewing DOJ's plans for obtaining additional resources and funding to complete the implementation of this recommendation.

All Recommendations in 2017-131

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.