Report 2021-105 Recommendation 60 Responses

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

Recommendation #60 To: Stockton Police Department

To ensure that it adequately investigates possible biased conduct and implements effective corrective actions, Stockton Police should ensure it has implemented policies or procedures by January 2023 that require that misconduct investigations formally analyze whether an officer has acted in a biased manner whenever a complainant alleges bias, the facts of the incident indicate bias might have influenced an officer's behavior, or investigators recognize potential indications of bias during other reviews, such as use-of-force reviews.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From July 2025

Policy 401, "Bias-Based Policing," clearly outlines the Stockton Police Department's commitment to fair and objective policing. This commitment is explicitly stated in Section 401.1, "Purpose and Scope."

Additionally, the policy prohibits bias-based policing and provides a detailed definition of what constitutes biased conduct.

Section 401.3, "Bias-Based Policing Prohibited," states:

"Bias-based policing is strictly prohibited. However, nothing in this policy is intended to prohibit an officer from considering protected characteristics in combination with credible, timely, and distinct information connecting a person or people of a specific characteristic to a specific unlawful incident, specific unlawful incidents, specific criminal patterns, or specific schemes."

Furthermore, Section 401.1.1, "Definitions," explicitly defines bias-based policing or improper profiling as:

"An inappropriate reliance on actual or perceived characteristics such as race, ethnicity, national origin (including limited English proficiency), 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 service or enforcement (Penal Code section 13519.4). This includes explicit and implicit biases (i.e., conscious and unconscious beliefs or attitudes towards certain groups)."

Additionally, Policy 300, "Use of Force," reinforces the expectation that officers must carry out their duties, including the use of force, in a manner that is fair and unbiased.

Policy 1009, "Personnel Complaints," contains Section 1009.4.6, "Hate Complaints Against Peace Officers," which addresses complaints alleging that an officer, within the past seven years and since turning 18, has engaged in membership in a hate group, participation in hate group activities, or public advocacy of hate (Penal Code section 13682).

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

The department's response cites policies that are not directly related to our recommendation that investigations of potential misconduct explicitly consider bias under specified circumstances.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2023

The Stockton Police Department is updating its policies through Lexipol, a platform representing nationwide standards and best practices. There will be a new early intervention system policy.

The Stockton Police Department Citizen Complaint forms ask the citizens if they are alleging racial or identity profiling. If the citizen responds yes, they are asked to indicate the specific type of profiling alleged with several examples listed.

If the citizen states that they are alleging racial or identity profiling, that is tracked and thoroughly investigated to see if there is any validity to that accusation.

The Professional Standards Section has been in the process of implementing a new program (IAPro/Blue Team/EIPro) that is robust and will incorporate data from several categories, such as officers' use of force, Officer-involved shootings, on-duty vehicle accidents, vehicle pursuits, internal and external complaints, inquiries related to behavioral concerns, etc. IAPro and Blue Team were implemented in August and September 2023. EIPro (Early Intervention) is a system that became operative in October 2023.

This information has thresholds set, and if a police officer passes any threshold, it will alert to review the data to see if early intervention is warranted. Part of this review will include a review for potential indications of bias.

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

All Recommendations in 2021-105

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.