Report 2021-105 Recommendation Responses
Report 2021-105: Law Enforcement Departments Have Not Adequately Guarded Against Biased Conduct (Release Date: April 2022)
Recommendation for Legislative Action
To better align existing expectations in state law with best practices for addressing bias during the hiring of peace officers, the Legislature should do the following:
- Require that POST, in the course of its regular audits of local law enforcement departments' hiring processes, determine whether the departments conduct the following activities:
o Oral interviews that incorporate assessments of officer applicants' ability to interact with a diverse community.
o Interviews of secondary references to obtain information about officer applicants' characters
- Require POST to develop guidance for local law enforcement departments on performing effective Internet and social media screenings of officer applicants. This guidance should include, at minimum, strategies for identifying applicant social media profiles and for searching for and identifying content indicative of potential biases, such as affiliation with hate groups.
Description of Legislative Action
AB 2547 (Nazarian, 2022) would have required POST to develop guidance for local law enforcement departments on performing effective internet and social media screenings of officer applicants. The guidance would have had to include, at a minimum, strategies for identifying applicant social media profiles and for searching for, and identifying, content indicative of potential biases, such as affiliation with hate groups. This bill died in the Senate on August 11, 2022.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: October 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Legislation Proposed But Not Enacted
Description of Legislative Action
AB 2547 (Nazarian, 2022) would require POST to develop guidance for local law enforcement departments on performing effective internet and social media screenings of officer applicants. The guidance would have to include, at a minimum, strategies for identifying applicant social media profiles and for searching for and identifying content indicative of potential biases, such as affiliation with hate groups. As of August 25, 2022, this bill was pending in the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: August 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Legislation Introduced
As of August 25, 2022, AB 2547 (Nazarian, 2022) was pending in the Senate Committee on Appropriations.