Report 2021-105 Recommendation 47 Responses

Report 2021-105: Law Enforcement Departments Have Not Adequately Guarded Against Biased Conduct (Release Date: April 2022)

Recommendation #47 To: San Jose Police Department

To strengthen its relationships with its community and mitigate the effects of bias on its officers, San José Police should develop and begin implementing a documented strategy to do all of the following by April 2023:
- Collaborate with its communities to establish or leverage community advisory boards consisting of representatives of diverse groups. The strategy should specify how it will partner with the boards in the areas of recruitment, hiring, training, and community engagement, as well as how it will leverage the boards to obtain feedback on how it can better serve its community.
- Ensure that officers at all levels regularly participate in community engagement activities.
- Periodically survey its community to assess the effectiveness of its community engagement efforts and solicit feedback on how to improve its operations.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2023

The Department is in the process of preparing a workplan for a community engagement consultant. The Department will be seeking the consultant's evaluation and recommendations on community engagement, relationship building, participation in Department activities, training, and policy direction. Allocation of budget resources for this item will be evaluated through the budget process, in the context of the City's overall fiscal condition and other Departmental program needs. The Department is continuing the selection process for a consultant.

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

1-Year Agency Response

The Department is in the process of preparing a workplan for a community engagement consultant. The Department will be seeking the consultant's evaluation and recommendations on community engagement, relationship building, participation in Department activities, training, and policy direction. Allocation of budget resources for this item will be evaluated through the budget process, in the context of the City's overall fiscal condition and other Departmental program needs. The Department has meeting on 04/27/23 with a final candidate for the community engagement consultant.

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

6-Month Agency Response

The Department is in the process of preparing a workplan for a community engagement consultant. The Department will be seeking the consultant's evaluation and recommendations on community engagement, relationship building, participation in Department activities, training, and policy direction. Allocation of budget resources for this item will be evaluated through the budget process, in the context of the City's overall fiscal condition and other Departmental program needs.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The Department is in the process of developing a Request for Proposal for a community engagement consultant. The consultant will work with stakeholders to create a comprehensive community engagement plan, both for the Department, as well as for each of the four patrol Divisions. As part of this community engagement analysis, the consultant will provide guidance on community advisory boards, their recommended makeup, and how the Department will partner with those boards in the future. Due to the extensive collaboration, research, and development necessary for a comprehensive community engagement plan, this recommendation will likely not be completed until December 2023.

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

All Recommendations in 2021-105

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.