Report 2021-105 Recommendation 57 Responses
Report 2021-105: Law Enforcement Departments Have Not Adequately Guarded Against Biased Conduct (Release Date: April 2022)
Recommendation #57 To: Stockton Police Department
To better assess whether peace officer applicants have the ability to work with diverse members of their communities and whether they possess detectable disqualifying biases, by no later than October 2022 Stockton Police should should begin using documented procedures that adhere to best practices to identify and review applicants' public social media profiles for content indicative of disqualifying biases, such as hate group affiliation.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From April 2026
Per a previous response this was implemented on January 2023. Drop down menu only allows year 2024.
SPD implemented procedures to review applicants' public social media profiles.
Practices Implemented
POST Compliant Social Media Review
Background investigators:
- Review public social media accounts
- Document findings
- Flag content related to:
o Hate groups
o Racial or identity based slurs
o Extremist ideology
o Harassing or discriminatory behavior
Policy Integration
Procedures are incorporated into:
- SPD Background Investigation Manual
- POST background investigation standards
- Policy 1009 (for internal consistency)
- Completion Date: January 2024
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented
Stockton provided a copy of the POST background investigation manual, which highlights the need to perform a social media review during the hiring process and review posted content for potential bias. The department has attested to following this manual and to the extent that it is doing so it has fully addressed this recommendation.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From March 2025
Per a previous response this was implemented on January 2023.
- Completion Date: January 2023
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending
Stockton reiterates that it implemented this recommendation in 2023. We received no additional information from Stockton that changes our previous assessment.
- Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2023
The Department has provided training to background investigators on how to use open-source internet and applications such as Accurint to identify and review applicants' social media accounts. Additionally, outside background investigators have the same requirement to search for social media accounts that show indications of disqualifying biases and hate group affiliations.
- Completion Date: January 2023
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending
Stockton PD does not yet have a documented procedure for identifying and reviewing applicants' public social media profiles for content indicative of disqualifying biases, such as hate group affiliation.
- Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation
All Recommendations in 2021-105
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.