Report 2021-105 Recommendation 39 Responses
Report 2021-105: Law Enforcement Departments Have Not Adequately Guarded Against Biased Conduct (Release Date: April 2022)
Recommendation #39 To: San Bernardino Police Department
To ensure that it adequately investigates possible biased conduct and implements effective corrective actions, San Bernardino Police should ensure it has implemented policies or procedures by January 2023 that require that the investigations apply a definition of bias that incorporates the following: biased conduct can include conduct resulting from implicit as well as explicit biases; conduct is biased if a reasonable person would conclude so using the facts at hand; an officer need not admit biased or prejudiced intent for conduct to reasonably appear biased; and biased conduct may occur in an encounter with the public, with other officers, or online, such as conduct on social media.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2023
The Department's previous response remains true.
- Estimated Completion Date: Unknown
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending
San Bernardino Police previously provided an excerpt of the Lexipol policy that it uses and which includes a definition of biased conduct. However, that definition does not address all elements of the recommendation, such as by clarifying that bias can be either implicit or explicit.
6-Month Agency Response
The Department uses Lexipol LLC. to maintain the most current policies regularly updated in response to new state and federal laws and relevant court decisions. The policy defines bias-based policing as "An inappropriate reliance on actual or perceived characteristics
such as race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or
expression, economic status, age, cultural group, disability, or affiliation with any non-criminal
group (protected characteristics) as the basis for providing differing law enforcement services or
enforcement (Penal Code section 13519.4)." Bias-based policing is strictly prohibited by the Department.
- Estimated Completion Date: October 2022
- Response Date: October 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending
60-Day Agency Response
The Department is researching best practices to develop policies and procedures to implement this recommendation.
- Estimated Completion Date: January 2023
- Response Date: June 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2021-105
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.