Law Enforcement

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris will join Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. and President Jeremy Travis of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the formation of a partnership to launch the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution (IIP).  Attorney General Harris will serve on the Institute’s Advisory Board. 

The Institute will bring together prosecutors, academics, law enforcement officials, and other leaders to develop practical solutions to the critical issues facing the criminal justice system in the 21st century, including how to ensure public safety while at the same time improving fairness in the system.

“For too long, criminal justice policy in America has been framed by a false choice: that one is either ‘tough on crime’ or ‘soft on crime,’” said Attorney General Harris. “This has led to short-sighted policies that erode the public’s faith in the criminal justice system.  By taking a ‘smart on crime’ approach, this partnership will assist in the development and implementation of innovative, data-driven prosecution strategies that will lead to a more transparent, fair and effective criminal justice system.”

“Our investment in IIP represents our bid to ensure that this pivotal moment for criminal justice reform does not pass us by,” said District Attorney Vance. “As a brick-and-mortar think tank housed within a national research university, IIP is uniquely positioned to drive innovation and analysis of the ‘big issues’ confronting prosecutors in the years and decades to come. IIP will advance comprehensive policy solutions reflecting the very best in justice innovation – policies which increase safety and fairness at the same time.”

Affiliated with John Jay’s National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC), the IIP will be led by an Executive Director and will develop program offerings designed to drive policy and procedural changes in the American justice system. The Institute’s wide range of programs will include executive-level forums, professional development, and research opportunities to help enhance prosecutorial strategies, including a workshop for new prosecutors and an executive session on the emerging role of the prosecutor. Through these programs, the IIP will serve as a national laboratory to reimagine the role and function of prosecutors.

Among the initial topics that the Institute will examine include:

• Implicit bias in prosecutors’ offices;

• Data-driven prosecution and investment in preventative crime fighting strategies;

• Pre-trial diversion and release, including a risk assessment and evidence-based approach to achieving better and fairer outcomes for those who enter the criminal justice system;

• Planning for release and re-entry, including bringing prosecutors, judges, and corrections officials together to design and invest in education and skill development for incarcerated individuals in order to maximize success post-release;

• Best-practice models for police-involved fatal encounters with civilians; and

• How prosecutors can best address the impact of gun violence.

The three-year, $3 million in funding being allocated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is the result of settlements with international banks that violated U.S. sanctions. The IIP will be guided by an Advisory Board comprised of Attorney General Harris and the following national leaders in criminal justice reform:

Anita Alvarez
State Attorney, Cook County

Lenore Anderson
Executive Director, Californians for Safety and Justice

Paul Butler
Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

John Chisholm
District Attorney, Milwaukee County

Mai Fernandez
Executive Director, National Center for Victims of Crime

George Gascon
District Attorney, City and County of San Francisco

Nancy Gertner
Senior Lecturer, Harvard Law School

Jackie Lacey
District Attorney, Los Angeles County

Garry McCarthy
Superintendent, Chicago Police Department

Anne Milgram
Vice President of Criminal Justice, Arnold Foundation

A.C. Roper
Chief of Police, Birmingham

Kathy Fernandez Rundle
State’s Attorney, Miami Dade

Dan Satterberg
Prosecuting Attorney, King County (Seattle)

Seth Williams
District Attorney, Philadelphia

Ronald Wright
Professor, Wake Forest University School of Law

The Advisory Board is scheduled to convene its first meeting in October.

Attorney General Harris has demonstrated a career-long commitment to improving the fairness and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. In 2013, she created within the California Department of Justice the Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry to curb recidivism in California by partnering with counties and District Attorneys on best practices and policy initiatives.

This year, she also launched Back on Track Los Angeles, a comprehensive reentry program with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Probation, and other key partners; directed a 90-day Review of her Division of Law Enforcement’s policies on use of force and implicit bias; convened law enforcement leaders to share best practices through her 21st Century Policing Working Group; created the first POST-certified course on Procedural Justice and Implicit Bias in the U.S.; and developed a pilot body-worn camera policy within the Department of Justice. Last month, she launched OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind open data initiative that released unprecedented criminal justice data to strengthen trust, enhance government accountability, and inform public policy.

LOS ANGELES - Today, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the launch of a new, first-of-its-kind online resource hub with tools for victims, technology companies and law enforcement agencies to combat cyber exploitation, the criminal act of posting intimate photos or videos online without the consent of the individual.  Today’s announcement is a culmination of nine months of work by the Attorney General’s Cyber Exploitation Task Force, a collaboration between the Department of Justice, major technology companies, law enforcement, and victims’ advocates. 

In response, elected officials and leaders in the technology industry released the following statements of support:

Antigone Davis, Head of Global Safety Policy, Facebook:

"Sharing intimate images of someone without their consent can be both devastating and dangerous for the victim. Such activity is not allowed on Facebook and we are proud to support Attorney General Harris’ anti-cyber exploitation initiative to raise awareness of this abhorrent practice and promote tools to fight it.”

Jacqueline Beauchere, Chief Online Safety Officer, Microsoft:

"Non-consensual distribution of sexual content, commonly known as ‘revenge porn’, is a horrific violation of privacy that can damage nearly every aspect of a victim’s life. Microsoft commends Attorney General Harris' commitment to this issue and we are proud to support this effort to help ensure victims have easy access to the tools they need to regain control of their images and their privacy. We hope this new online hub, which includes reporting information for online services such as Microsoft’s new reporting site for Bing, OneDrive and Xbox Live, will prove to be a valuable resource for victims."

Danielle Keats Citron, Lois K. Macht Research Professor & Professor of Law, University of Maryland Carey School of Law:

“Attorney General Kamala Harris's Working Group has set a major milestone in the fight against cyber exploitation today.  In my research of hate crimes in cyberspace, I’ve interviewed more than 50 exploitation victims.  Victims had a hard time finding employment because their nude images and contact information appeared prominently in online searches. They were terrified that strangers would confront them in person. They moved; some changed their names; all were distraught. The fallout was devastating. AG Harris's work is groundbreaking, educating victims about their rights, providing training to law enforcement, securing essential legislation, and working with companies on best practices. The Working Group's efforts in California are a model for the rest of the country.” 

John Doherty, Vice President of State Policy & Politics and General Counsel, TechNet:

“TechNet applauds Attorney General Kamala Harris' efforts to crack down on cyber exploitation, which violates a victim on a deeply personal and private level.  We’re proud that the technology industry has come together in support of this important issue to provide victims an avenue of protection. Over the past 50 years, the Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate, engage in commerce, and collaborate with friends and colleagues around the world.  Overwhelmingly, these changes have been a force for good.  But, clearly there is a dark side, and we must remain vigilant in the effort to protect Internet users from this type of terrible and troubling cyber exploitation.” 

Bob Stresak, Executive Director, California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST):

“The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training is honored to be a part of the Attorney General’s working group in a progressive effort to combat cyber exploitation.  As technology advances, criminal activity takes new forms.  This often presents challenges for law enforcement.  Law enforcement must advance in its ability to proactively address and effectively respond to those challenges.  To that end, the Commission on POST will continue in its commitment to provide the best training available to the law enforcement community.”

California Assemblymember Mike Gatto (D-Glendale):

“Cyber exploitation is a serious crime.  I was proud to partner with Attorney General Harris on legislation to eliminate jurisdictional loopholes and give additional tools to law enforcement to investigate and prosecute this type of crime. The Department of Justice’s resource hub will play an important role in the fight to end cyber exploitation in California.”

California Senator Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres):

“Cyber exploitation greatly disrupts the lives of victims.  I am glad that California remains in the forefront of fighting this horrendous crime. We need victims to be more aware that there are resources to protect them.  This is a valuable tool to help in ending cyber exploitation.”

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the launch of a new, first-of-its-kind online resource hub with helpful tools for victims, the technology industry and law enforcement agencies to combat cyber exploitation, the criminal act of posting intimate photos or videos online without the consent of the individual.  Today’s announcement is a culmination of nine months of work by the Attorney General’s Cyber Exploitation Task Force, a collaboration between the Department of Justice, major technology companies, law enforcement, and victims’ advocates.   

“Posting intimate images online without consent is a cowardly crime that humiliates and belittles victims,” said Attorney General Harris. “These new tools will assist law enforcement in combating cyber exploitation and support victims in seeking justice. I would like to thank our partners from our task force, whose work will have a global impact in combatting this heinous crime.”

Attorney General Harris’s effort is centered on a newly created online resource hub that will work to empower victims with information on how to have images posted without permission removed from popular websites and search engines, and provide clear guidance to local law enforcement about new and existing laws to investigate and prosecute cyber exploitation cases. The resource hub will include a Best Practice Guide for technology companies to help them develop policies that prevent the posting and sharing of cyber exploitation images. 

Designed to be a one-stop-shop for law enforcement, victims and technology companies, the site will include information graphics with steps individuals can take after being a victim of cyber exploitation, and the first-ever comprehensive collection of major technology platforms’ privacy policies and links to report improper use of intimate images and how to have them removed from social media sites and online search engines.

“Attorney General Kamala Harris's Working Group has set a major milestone in the fight against cyber exploitation today.  In my research of hate crimes in cyberspace, I’ve interviewed more than 50 exploitation victims.  Victims had a hard time finding employment because their nude images and contact information appeared prominently in online searches. They were terrified that strangers would confront them in person. They moved; some changed their names; all were distraught. The fallout was devastating,” said Danielle Keats Citron, Lois K. Macht Research Professor & Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. “AG Harris's work is groundbreaking, educating victims about their rights, providing training to law enforcement, securing essential legislation, and working with companies on best practices. The Working Group's efforts in California are a model for the rest of the country.”

“TechNet applauds Attorney General Kamala Harris' efforts to crack down on cyber exploitation, which violates a victim on a deeply personal and private level.  We’re proud that the technology industry has come together in support of this important issue to provide victims an avenue of protection,” said John Doherty, Vice President of State Policy & Politics and General Counsel at TechNet. “Over the past 50 years, the Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate, engage in commerce, and collaborate with friends and colleagues around the world.  Overwhelmingly, these changes have been a force for good.  But, clearly there is a dark side, and we must remain vigilant in the effort to protect Internet users from this type of terrible and troubling cyber exploitation.”

In tandem with the launch of the anti-cyber exploitation initiative, Attorney General Harris issued a Law Enforcement Bulletin, with instructions for all California law enforcement agencies on how to use and enforce new and existing laws related to cyber exploitation crimes. This past legislative session, Attorney General Harris sponsored two bills to enable more effective prosecution of cyber exploitation crimes: AB 1310 and SB 676. Both laws were signed by Governor Jerry Brown and become effective January 1, 2016. 

AB 1310, sponsored by Assemblymember Mike Gatto (D-Glendale), expands the jurisdictional options for prosecuting cyber exploitation cases and allows law enforcement to use a search warrant to investigate cyber exploitation cases. SB 676, sponsored by Senator Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres), adds cyber exploitation to the list of computer crimes eligible for forfeiture and destruction of property as part of a judgment and provides law enforcement with a process for seizing and destroying cyber exploitation images.

The initiative will also include a digital campaign, lead by the Attorney General’s Cyber Exploitation Task Force, using the hashtag #EndCyberExploitation, to raise awareness of the crime and connect victims with resources.   

The Attorney General’s cyber exploitation website was launched in October to mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Cyber Security Awareness Month. According to the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), a partner in the working group, more than 90% of victims of cyber exploitation are women and girls. In CCRI’s survey of cyber exploitation victims, 51% reported having suicidal thoughts.

In January 2015, Attorney General Harris convened a task force of 50 major technology companies (including Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Twitter), victims’ advocates, and legislative and law enforcement leaders to fight cyber exploitation. The Attorney General’s working group on cyber exploitation is focused on four key areas: (1) education and prevention, (2) law enforcement education and training , (3) technology leadership and (4) legislation. This initiative is the culmination of this group’s work over the last nine months. 

Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit in 2011 to identify and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes, and other crimes involving the use of technology. The California Department of Justice is leading the nation in prosecuting these crimes, having garnered the first successful prosecution of a cyber exploitation operator in the country.  Earlier this year, Kevin Bollaert was sentenced to eight years imprisonment followed by ten years of supervised release for his operation of a cyber exploitation website that allowed the anonymous, public posting of intimate photos accompanied by personal identifying information of individuals without their consent.

The new resource hub can be found at http://oag.ca.gov/cyberexploitation.   

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued a statement in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s signature of Assembly Bill 1310 (Gatto, D-Glendale), one of two cyber exploitation bills sponsored by Attorney General Harris.

“This new law gives law enforcement important tools necessary to hold cyber exploitation perpetrators accountable and bring justice to victims,” said Attorney General Harris. “AB 1310 furthers the ability of law enforcement to gather evidence and prosecute these heinous cases. I thank Assemblymember Gatto for authoring this critical measure.”

AB 1310 amends current law by allowing search warrants to be issued for cyber exploitation crimes, giving law enforcement the ability to search electronic databases and retrieve the victims’ images.  AB 1310 also allows for the prosecution of cyber exploitation cases in the county where the victim resides or in the county where the images were posted.  Since posters and website operators commonly reside outside of the victim’s jurisdiction, this change in the law will relieve some of the burden placed on the victim during the prosecution of the case. 

“With this legislation, law enforcement will be able to more effectively investigate and prosecute cyber exploitation criminals across multiple jurisdictions,” said Assemblymember Gatto.  “I applaud the Attorney General for championing this measure and thank Governor Brown for signing it into law.”

This year, Attorney General Harris sponsored two bills to enhance the prosecution of cyber exploitation in the state.  Senate Bill 676 (Cannella, R-Ceres), signed by the governor last month, enables law enforcement to seek the forfeiture and destruction of cyber exploitation images. 

On October 14, the Attorney General’s Cyber Exploitation Working Group will announce its findings and unveil new resources for victims, law enforcement, and tech companies in the fight against cyber exploitation.  This new initiative represents the culmination of a 9 month-long collaboration on four key areas: developing industry best practices, education and prevention, law enforcement training and collaboration, as well as legislation and advocacy.  The working group includes major technology companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo!, Google, and Instagram.

Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit in 2011 to identify and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes, and other crimes involving the use of technology. The California Department of Justice is leading the nation in prosecuting these crimes, having garnered the first successful prosecution of a cyber exploitation operator in the country. In 2015, Kevin Bollaert was sentenced to eight years imprisonment followed by ten years of supervised release for his operation of a cyber exploitation website that allowed the anonymous, public posting of intimate photos accompanied by personal identifying information of individuals without their consent.

TULARE – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the arrest of 52 individuals as part of an ongoing investigation into violent Norteño gang activity in Tulare County, following a rash of homicides in the region. 

“This operation captured dangerous criminals accused of terrorizing Central Valley communities through murder and violence,” said Attorney General Harris.  “We will continue to target violent street gangs by dismantling their networks and taking these dangerous criminals off our streets. I thank our DOJ Special Agents and local law enforcement partners for their dedicated work to keeping our communities safe.”

The TARGET Task Force, the Tulare County Sheriff's Department, the Visalia Police Department, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, and the California Department of Justice and California Highway Patrol’s Fresno-based Special Operations Unit (SOU) jointly conducted the multi-month investigation and today’s takedown.  

The TARGET Task Force was created by Attorney General Harris in 2011 and includes the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation, Visalia Police Department, Tulare County Sheriff's Department, Tulare Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol.

"The collaboration demonstrated by multiple law enforcement agencies, including our partners at the Department of Justice, have proved very successful today,” said California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Keeping the communities safe that we have been entrusted with protecting is of utmost importance to the CHP. I very much appreciate the professionalism of all of those who carried out this dangerous operation."

Today’s Operation Red Sol, a multi-agency gang takedown, led to the arrest of 52 individuals, including Pedro “Pistol Pete” Sanchez, a Norteño leader in charge of running the gang’s illicit day-to-day operations.  Those arrested face felony charges ranging from conspiracy to commit homicide, attempted homicide, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, extortion, home invasion, weapons possession and sales of narcotics. 

This is the most violent group of Norteño gang members investigated by the Department of Justices’s Special Operations Unit to date. Over the course of the investigation, an additional 38 individuals have been arrested.

The operation also resulted in the seizure of $34,000 in cash, six firearms and small amounts of narcotics.

The case will be prosecuted by the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office.

In 2014, Attorney General Harris and California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow secured $9.4 million in funding for California Department of Justice Bureau of Investigation’s SOU teams. These unique and essential teams are a partnership between DOJ and CHP, using the latest technology and advanced investigative techniques to work alongside local law enforcement to enhance investigations into violent criminals and organized crime throughout the state.

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice has been awarded over two million dollars in federal grants to fight gang activity and the manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine throughout the state. The grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office.

California DOJ received $1,499,814 from the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program and $747,629 from the COPS Anti-Gang Initiative. 

“Methamphetamine is a dangerous drug that threatens the health and safety of our communities,” said Attorney General Harris. “These federal dollars will support our statewide work to aid in the dismantling of criminal organizations and combat the deadly and violent impacts of this drug on our streets.”

The Attorney General’s 2014 report, Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime, found that California is the primary entry point for methamphetamine smuggled into the United States, with as much of 70 percent of it entering through San Diego alone. From 2012 – 2013, California DOJ-led task forces confiscated 3,146 pounds of the drug.    

The COPS Office is awarding more than $6.1 million under the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program to seven state-level law enforcement agencies dealing with high seizures of precursor chemicals, finished methamphetamine, and laboratories. The award will fund DOJ efforts to investigate illicit activities related to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine in California.

Under the COPS Anti-Gang Initiative, the COPS Office is awarding close to $5.8 million to nine multijurisdictional task forces to address gang activity. The initiative focuses on combating gang activity through enforcement, prevention, education, and intervention. This award aims to support multijurisdictional partnerships between federal, state, and local law enforcement to address all forms of gang activity.

The COPS Office is a federal agency within the United States Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris concluded the 24th annual Attorney General’s Awards at a ceremony Friday in San Francisco. The honorees represented California Department of Justice employees who have demonstrated the highest professional work standards.  This year, 102 employees were honored throughout the Department for their accomplishments in 2014, as well as for attaining 25 years of distinguished state service. The other award winners from across the state were honored at similar ceremonies in San Diego, Sacramento, and Los Angeles earlier in the month.

“The people who work in the Department of Justice are the story behind the headlines. Many of you  toil behind the scenes, working long nights and sometimes weekends, to enforce the laws of our state. And most of the people whom your work benefits will never know your names. But you do it because you care. Thank you all for everything you do for this department and for the people of California,” said Attorney General Harris.

The awardees were as follows:

Sustained Superior Accomplishment Award

• Corinna Dunkle, Civil Law – Sacramento
• Carmen Keeler, DLE – Broadway
• Lynne McGinnis, Criminal Law – San Diego
• Sherrie Nagafuchi, DAS – Sacramento
• Sandy Shum, DAS – San Francisco
• Laura Stalford, DLE – San Diego

Award for Excellence

• Stephanie Buck, DLE – Sacramento
• Xiomara Costello, Criminal Law – Los Angeles
• Stephanie Fong, CJIS – Broadway
• Terri Hairston, DLE – Broadway
• Danielle Newman, DAS – Sacramento
• Zola Salena-Hawkins, DAS – Los Angeles
• Richard Wolfe, Civil Law – San Diego
• Karen Wong, CJIS – Broadway
• David Zonana, Public Rights – Oakland

Award for Excellence in Supervision

• Maggie Jackson, DAS – Sacramento
• Michael Mattson, DLE – San Francisco
• Thomas Patterson, Civil Law – San Francisco

Award for Excellence in Management

• Sally Magnani, Public Rights – Sacramento
• John Yoshida, DLE – Sacramento

Award for Client Representation or Prosecution

• Jonathan Cooper, Civil Law – San Francisco
• Mark Cumba, Criminal Law – San Diego
• Joel Jacobs, Public Rights – Oakland

Peace Officer Award

• Eric Froeschner, Criminal Law – Laguna Woods

Citizenship Award

• Stacie Bolden, DAS – Los Angeles
• Leda Hayes, DAS – Sacramento
• Loren Ishii, DLE – Broadway

In addition to individual awardees, groups of employees were honored for Excellence as a Team. Encompassing employees from the regions of Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, the Bollaert UGOTPOSTED Criminal Law team was also honored for Excellence as a Team.  This team’s members included Renee Adame, Brian Caldwell, Erica Goerzen, Jason Nichols, Victoria (Sam) Terry, Johnete Jauron, Garett Gorlitsky, Jim Hirt, Tuan Phung, Paul Ramirez, Daniel Torres, Tawnya Austin, Cynthia Bentley, Angel Breault, Dolly Daswani, Patricia Fusco, Andrea Mintz, Michelle Moreno, Steve Oetting, Sonia Ramos, Natalie Rodriguez, and Nona Seaman.

In San Diego, recipients of the Award for Excellence as a Team included members of the Armed Prohibited Persons Systems (APPS), Department of Labor Standards Enforcement.

In San Diego and San Francisco, the Award for Excellence as a Team was awarded to contributed to the High Speed Rail Extraordinary Writ, Civil Law team, including Ross Moody, Sharon O’Grady, Tamar Pachter, Paul Stein, Catherine Brown, Constance LeLouis, Stephanie Zook.

In Sacramento and San Francisco, the PALCO Trial, Public Rights team also received an Award for Excellence as a Team, including members Denise Hoffman, Oda Killian, Megan Sato, Regina Tochterman, Lucinda Witte, Rick Acker, Cory Alcantara, Clarence Binninger, Matthew Bullock, Robert Byrne, Michael Edson, Nicole Gordon,  Daniel Harris, Esther La, William Moser, Michael Neville, Myung (Mo) Park, Barbara Spiegel, Julian Standen, and Rebecca Torres.

In San Francisco, the Award for Excellence as a Team was given to the DNA Innovation Team-Richmond Lab, DLE, members Margaret Aceves, Martin Buoncristiani, Mavis Date-Chong, Bill Hudlow, Sonja Klein, Steven Myers, Matt Piucci, Josh Sehhat, Gary Sims, Mark Timken, James Weigand, and Korie Faber.

Photos of the AG Awards recipients are available at http://oag.ca.gov/news/photo-gallery.

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the launch of OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind criminal justice open data initiative that will release unprecedented data while being interactive and easy to use. The tool consists of two components: a Dashboard that spotlights key criminal justice indicators with user-friendly visualization tools and an Open Data Portal that publishes raw data from the California Department of Justice’s statewide repository of criminal justice datasets.

The Attorney General was joined at the announcement by Congresswoman Karen Bass, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, and University of California Berkeley Professor Steven Raphael.

“Being “Smart on Crime” means measuring our effectiveness in the criminal justice system with data and metrics,” said Attorney General Harris. “This initiative puts forward a common set of facts, data and goals so that we can hold ourselves accountable and improve public safety. The California Department of Justice is proud to join with many in the law enforcement community to make our work more transparent.”

OpenJustice embraces transparency in the criminal justice system to strengthen trust, enhance government accountability, and inform public policy. Recent events in California and across the nation have highlighted the need for an important conversation to take place between law enforcement & the communities we are sworn to protect.

The Dashboard includes three important data sets that tell part of the story of the relationship between law enforcement and communities: (1) Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted in the Line of Duty; (2) Deaths in Custody, including arrest-related deaths; and (3) Arrests & Bookings.  For each metric, the Dashboard features interactive web tools that allow the public to explore these key criminal justice indicators over time and across jurisdictions. 

The Open Data Portal is an online repository of downloadable criminal justice data in raw form available to the public. This tool will enable researchers, civic coders, and journalists to help tackle seemingly intractable problems in the criminal justice system.  As part of the initiative, Attorney General Harris is expanding her work with law enforcement to improve reporting by eliminating unnecessary requirements and modernizing data reporting processes.

OpenJustice builds on Attorney General Kamala D. Harris’s leadership deploying 21st century “smart on crime” approaches to improve public safety.  As California’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer, Attorney General Harris has worked to embed new technology into the DNA of the Department of Justice and law enforcement agencies across the state.  This has involved cutting-edge SmartJustice tools including a web platform for law enforcement that integrates multiple state and local databases to provide aggregated criminal justice information, as well as a mobile portal so officers have access in the field at their fingertips. She has also championed using data to measure outcomes in public education and understand their connections to the criminal justice system.

Attorney General Harris has also taken several steps to strengthen the trust between law enforcement and California communities. She directed a 90-day Review of her Division of Law Enforcement’s policies on use of force and implicit bias, convened the state’s law enforcement leaders to share best practices through her 21st Century Policing Working Group, created the first POST-certified course on Procedural Justice and Implicit Bias in the U.S., and developed a pilot body-worn camera policy within the Department of Justice.

In the coming months, the Dashboard will expand to spotlight more metrics from across the justice system and a broad array of datasets will be released to foster accountability and trust.

Below are key finding from the Justice Dashboard:

Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted

• Since 1980, there has been an average of approximately 10 law enforcement officer deaths reported per year; 180 deaths resulted from unlawful incidents and 150 were accidental.
• In 2014, there were 14 deaths of law enforcement officers, which is an uptick from the previous 5-year average of approximately 8 deaths per year.
• Since 1980, 1 in 10 officers on the street were assaulted yearly. In that period, there have been over 280,000 assaults against law enforcement officers reported, or about 8,000 per year.  There are approximately 77,000 sworn officers in California in recent years, which has grown from 40,000 in 1980.

Death in Custody

• There were 6,837 deaths in custody reported between 2005 and 2014; an average of approximately 685 per year.
• Approximately 61 percent of deaths resulted from natural causes. The next leading cause of death is homicides by law enforcement at 14 percent, followed by suicide at 10 percent
• Over half of deaths in custody (~55%) were reported by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) followed by county sheriffs (~23%) and local police (~15%).
• Manner of death differed considerably across agency type:  Deaths reported by police were primarily homicides (nearly 70 percent), while sheriffs and CDCR reported a large proportion of deaths due to natural causes and suicide; 17% of deaths in jails were suicides.

Arrests & Bookings

• Over the past 30 years reported property and violent crimes have dropped by half.
• The arrest rate peaked in 1989; since then misdemeanor arrests rates have been falling steadily and felony arrests rates have dropped slightly.
• Men are roughly 3.5 times more likely to be arrested than women.
• There are large racial/ethnic disparities in arrest rates that hold across men and women. African Americans are the most likely to be arrested at any age, most notably between 18 and 40. Asians have the lowest arrest rates. 

To view all of the data released today, visit OpenJustice (http://openjustice.doj.ca.gov).

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. to unveil a first-of-its-kind criminal justice open data initiative that will release unprecedented data while being interactive and easy to use. The new data-driven initiative embraces transparency in the criminal justice system to strengthen trust, enhance government accountability, and inform public policy.  

A livestream of the press conference will be available at https://oag.ca.gov. 

WHO:

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris
Congresswoman Karen Bass
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck
Steven Raphael, Professor of Public Policy at University of California, Berkeley 

WHEN:

Wednesday, September 2 at 11:30 a.m. 

WHERE:

California Attorney General’s Office
Ronald Reagan Building
300 S. Spring Street (between 3rd and 4th Streets)
Los Angeles, CA 90013 

NOTE:

This event is open to credentialed media only. 

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced today that her office has filed involuntary manslaughter charges against Montrose, California-based Verdugo Valley Skilled Nursing & Wellness Centre, LLC for failing to provide requisite nursing care to a burn victim resident, leading to his death.

“Families who entrust loved ones to the care of a nursing home rightfully expect residents will receive the care and attention they need and that nursing homes have a legal duty to provide,”  said Attorney General Harris.  “We have filed criminal charges because we allege Verdugo Valley and its employees violated that trust and their legal duties in a way that resulted in a senseless, tragic and unnecessary death.  I thank the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse attorneys and agents working tirelessly to ensure these individuals are held accountable.”

The complaint filed by Attorney General Harris alleges that Verdugo Valley, LLC was grossly negligent in its care of James Populus, a resident with burns on 90 percent of his body from an arson fire two decades earlier.  In the 14 months that Populus was in the care of Verdugo Valley, he was examined by a doctor far fewer times than required by law, despite the respiratory and other health needs of burn victims.   

His declining health led to severe weight loss, sepsis, and pneumonia and on August 30, 2014, Populus died of multiple system failure due to sepsis. At the time of his death, Populus had infections throughout his body.

Charges of dependent adult abuse causing death have been filed against the facility’s director of nursing, Alexiuse San Mateo, who was responsible for Populus’s care at the facility and willfully permitted the patient’s death. Consuelo Policarpio, the supervising nurse, is charged with dependent adult abuse causing great bodily injury due to a delay in calling 911. 

Verdugo Valley Skilled Nursing & Wellness Centre, LLC, San Mateo and Policarpio were arraigned yesterday.

San Mateo faces 9 years in state prison and a $10,000 fine and Policarpio faces a maximum of 7 years in state prison and a $10,000 fine. Verdugo Valley, LLC faces a $10,000 fine and exclusion from any state or federally funded health care program.

The Declaration in Support of Arrest Warrant alleges that staff at Verdugo Valley delayed calling 911 and failed to document critical changes in their patient’s condition, in addition to making false entries in medical records.

In the 14 months that Populus was a patient at Verdugo Valley, 80 change of condition forms required signature by a treating physician, but all 80 forms were void of a doctor’s signature. The facility named the patient’s primary care doctor as his treating doctor from the hospital; however, this doctor did not have a relationship with Populus and never visited him at Verdugo Valley.

The case stems from an investigation conducted by the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse. Since taking office in 2011, Attorney General Harris has created specialized BMFEA teams in Sacramento and Los Angeles composed of legal and nursing professionals to combat abuse, neglect and poor quality of care in California’s nursing homes.

A copy of the complaint and declaration in support of arrest warrant submitted to the court is attached to the online version of this release at www.oag.ca.gov/news.