Law Enforcement

LOS ANGELES—Today, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the results of an internal California Department of Justice 90-Day Review of its special agent training programs on implicit bias and use of force. As part of the review process, the Attorney General also created the 21st Century Policing Working Group made up of a diverse coalition of sheriffs, chiefs and other law enforcement leaders from across the state. The release of the Department’s review and the creation of the working group are part of an effort to address the crisis of confidence between law enforcement and the communities they serve. 

“The sacred trust between the men and women of law enforcement and the communities we serve is essential to a strong and safe California,” said Attorney General Harris.  “California is leading the way by releasing a review of our special agent trainings on implicit bias and the use of force. These actions are being taken with the goal of increasing transparency and with the expectation that California’s law enforcement agencies will use this work as a roadmap to review their own policies.”

In her second inaugural address in January, Attorney General Harris directed the Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement (the Division) to conduct a 90-Day Review of its special agent trainings on implicit bias and use of force. The Division conducted this review over the course of three months and in consultation with a diverse group of community organizations, advocates, leading academics and law enforcement agencies across the state. The results of the review can serve as a blueprint for California law enforcement agencies to critically examine existing policies and tailor recommendations to their communities. 

“I have long believed that law enforcement functions best when we work with and not simply in our community,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell. “We must continuously earn the trust of our community; these partnerships have become even more critical over the past year. I applaud the work  Attorney General Kamala Harris has done to bring law enforcement leaders together to develop new thinking and strategies in this arena. I look forward to working with her and other law enforcement partners on this important issue.”

"I am pleased to join other law enforcement leaders in this most worthy endeavor to address building community trust. Law Enforcement is a noble profession and the men and women of the Stockton Police Department have been doing some great work in this area that we look forward to sharing," said Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones.

The actions announced by DOJ’s 90-Day Review include the development of the first Implicit Bias and Procedural Justice training in the United States, to be certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (“POST”). The course is being developed in collaboration with Stanford University Professor Jennifer L. Eberhardt, POST, leaders from the Oakland and Stockton Police Departments, and the California Partnership for Safe Communities.  

As part of the review process, the Division trained all command-level staff and 24 special agents on Fair and Impartial Policing and Implicit Bias, and is on track to train the remainder of agents by the end of May. The Division will also institute a body camera policy for all DOJ special agent personnel conducting field operations. The review also included recommendations to increase the recruitment and hiring of a more diverse workforce of special agents and trainees.

Major highlights of the review include: 

• Established the first certified implicit bias and procedural justice training in the United States
• Developed and implemented the first-ever DOJ policy on implicit bias and racial profiling
• Trained all of the Division’s command-level staff and on track to train all special agents on Fair and Impartial Policing and Implicit Bias, by the end of May 2015. 
• Adoption of new body camera technologies to increase transparency and foster trust among Division special agents and the community  
• Efforts to increase the recruitment and hiring of diverse special agents and trainees by expanding the pool of qualified candidates 

In her inaugural address, Attorney General Harris outlined a plan to convene and work with state and local law enforcement partners, community leaders and youth to develop solutions, to increase mutual understanding and strengthen trust. As a result, the Attorney General created the 21st Century Policing Working Group to foster discussion regarding implicit bias and building community trust. The Working Group has held eight meetings and created subcommittees on three topics: effective training, community-oriented policing, and procedural justice. The subcommittees are exploring each of these issues in-depth, sharing best practices and policies, and discussing how they apply to various communities. 

In addition, the Attorney General’s Office has convened community members, including roundtable discussions with high school students from South and East Los Angeles. The meetings served as an opportunity to listen to their experiences with police and their ideas on how to improve the relationship between youth and law enforcement.  

A copy of the review can be found is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.

LOS ANGELES— Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that Kevin Christopher Bollaert, the operator of a cyber-exploitation website which posted nude photos of individuals with personal identifying information without their consent, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. This case is the first criminal prosecution of a cyber-exploitation website operator in the country.

“Today’s sentence makes clear there will be severe consequences for those that profit from the exploitation of victims online,” said Attorney General Harris. “Sitting behind a computer, committing what is essentially a cowardly and criminal act will not shield predators from the law or jail. We will continue to be vigilant and investigate and prosecute those who commit these deplorable acts.” 

In February 2015, Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, of San Diego, was found guilty on 6 counts of extortion and 21 counts of identity theft.  

An investigation conducted by Attorney General Harris and the Department of Justice found that from December 2012 to approximately September 2013, Bollaert created the website ugotposted.com, which allowed the anonymous, public posting of private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission. Commonly known as revenge porn, the photos are typically obtained consensually by the poster during a prior relationship or are stolen or hacked. Unlike many other revenge porn websites where the subject of the photos is anonymous, ugotposted.com required that the poster include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link. As a result, the victims experienced severe harassment through social media, at their places of work and in other communities.

Bollaert created a second website, changemyreputation.com, in October 2012, which he used when individuals contacted ugotposted.com requesting that content be removed from the site.  Bollaert would extort victims by replying with a changemyreputation.com email address and offering to remove the content for a fee ranging from $250 to $350, which could be paid using an online PayPal account referenced in the emails.  Bollaert told investigators that he made around $900 per month from advertising on the site and records obtained from his changemyreputation.com PayPal account indicate that he received payments totaling  approximately $30,000.

Bollaert’s arrest arose from a six-month investigation by the California Attorney General’s eCrime unit. 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. 

In February 2014, Attorney General Harris announced the arrest of Casey E. Meyering, 28, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who operated the website WinByState.com. He was charged with 5 counts of felony extortion and is currently awaiting trial on June 8, 2015.

LOS ANGELES –  Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued the following statement on her decision to file an action for declaratory relief seeking judicial authorization to not issue a title and summary for the so-called Sodomite Suppression Act: 

“As Attorney General of California, it is my sworn duty to uphold the California and United States Constitutions and to protect the rights of all Californians.  This proposal not only threatens public safety, it is patently unconstitutional, utterly reprehensible, and has no place in a civil society. Today, I am filing an action for declaratory relief with the Court seeking judicial authorization for relief from the duty to prepare and issue the title and summary for the "Sodomite Suppression Act." If the Court does not grant this relief, my office will be forced to issue a title and summary for a proposal that seeks to legalize discrimination and vigilantism.”  

LOS ANGELES –  Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that Valley Springs Manor owner Herminigilda Noveda Manuel and administrator Edgar Babael were charged on fourteen felony counts of elder abuse for abandoning the residents of their facility.

Manuel and Babael operated Valley Springs Manor, a residential care facility for the elderly that was ordered closed in October 2013 after the Department of Social Services found multiple licensing violations. After the closure, paramedics arrived at the facility and found fourteen residents had been abandoned by the operators with no personnel to tend to their activities of daily living and medical needs. Both defendants are charged with fourteen felony counts and could face up to 17 years in state prison and a fine of up to $6,000 per count.

This case arose from a joint investigation by the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (BMFEA) and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.  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 submitted to the court is attached to the online version of this release at www.oag.ca.gov/news. 

OAKLAND— Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the takedown of an Oakland area criminal organization, including the arrest of 16 individuals and the seizure of 36 weapons.

The investigation, named 69th Avenue Village, represents the culmination of a five month long, joint operation with California Department of Justice’s Special Operations Units, California Highway Patrol and Oakland Police Department.

“We are committed to dismantling violent street gangs terrorizing our communities,” said Attorney General Harris. “I want to thank our Department of Justice agents, California Highway Patrol and the Oakland Police Department for their work to keep our communities safe.”

“We are relieved to have built cases on these violent individuals,” Oakland Police Department Chief Sean Whent said. “This extensive investigation was made possible because of the continued commitment of our partner agencies. We understand we have much more work to do and we are dedicated to our role in creating a safer Oakland.”

Operation 69th Avenue Village began in November 2014 with a request for assistance from the Oakland Police Department in investigating two of East Oakland’s violent rival gangs, the 65th Avenue Village Gang and the 69th Avenue Village Gang.  Over the past 15 years, these gangs have been involved in violent acts including robberies, home invasions and homicides.

Today’s joint investigation resulted in 22 search warrants served, including probation and parole searches.  In addition, law enforcement arrested 16 gang members and associates, and seized 36 weapons over the course of the operation. The members were charged with criminal conspiracy, gang enhancements, weapons violations, attempted murder, assault, and probation and parole violations and will be prosecuted by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

In 2014, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris worked with the Legislature and Governor Brown’s administration to secure $9.4 million for California DOJ Bureau of Investigation’s SOU teams. These unique and essential teams use the latest technology and advanced investigative techniques and work alongside local law enforcement to enhance investigations into violent criminals and organized crime throughout the state. 

Over the past four years, California Department of Justice special agents have seized over $200 million in cash, 10,000 kilos of cocaine, 12,000 pounds of methamphetamine, and taken nearly 12,000 illegal guns off the streets in California.

SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California Benjamin B. Wagner today announced that Alan Tikal, the principal operator of a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme, was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

“Alan Tikal’s actions were illegal and will not be tolerated in California.  He and his partners defrauded hundreds of hard-working Californians who were fighting to keep their homes during our state’s foreclosure crisis,” Attorney General Harris said. “This predatory scheme robbed families of their life savings and in many cases, their homes. I thank our California Mortgage Fraud Strike Force and the U.S. Department of Justice for their work to bring these individuals to justice.”

“The financial crisis that hit our communities so hard made it very difficult for a lot of people to make ends meet,“ said U.S. Attorney Wagner. “Alan Tikal cynically took advantage of the desperation those people felt for his own profit, stealing payments meant to preserve family homes. Although we cannot undo the harm Tikal inflicted, today’s sentence provides a measure of justice.”  

In September 2014, Alan David Tikal, 46, was convicted of 11 counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley. The case was jointly prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and the California Attorney General’s Office.

Between January 7, 2010 and August 20, 2013, Tikal operated a business under the name KATN, which targeted vulnerable and non-English speaking homeowners looking for mortgage assistance in the wake of the financial meltdown. According to evidence presented at trial, Tikal and his associates promised these homeowners that their outstanding mortgage debt would be reduced by 75%.  Tikal falsely claimed that he was a registered private banker with access to an enormous line of credit and was able to pay off homeowners’ debt in full. In exchange for various fees and payments, the homeowners existing mortgages would be satisfied and replaced with new loans to Tikal at 25% of the original loan obligation.

There were no instances in which the homeowner’s mortgage was paid, forgiven, or extinguished. Instead Tikal pocketed the victim’s money and spent it on chartered airline travel, a $5,000 suit, new cars, and other extravagant living expenses. Tikal and his associates convinced more than 1,000 homeowners in California and other states to participate in this fraudulent scam. Homeowners collectively paid more than $5,800,000 in fees and monthly payments to Tikal and his associates. The results were catastrophic for many families, the scam drained the victims’ bank accounts and ultimately led to the loss of their homes.

In February, co-defendant Ray Kornfeld was sentenced to 5 years for his role in the scheme and ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution to the victims. Co-defendant Tamara Tikal previously entered a guilty plea and will be sentenced on April 23, 2015.  

Tikal’s arrest arose from an investigation by Special Inspector General for the Trouble Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and Attorney General Harris’ Mortgage Fraud Strike Force with assistance from the Stanislaus and Alameda County District Attorney’s Offices.

The Mortgage Fraud Strike Force was formed in May 2011 to comprehensively investigate and prosecute misconduct in the mortgage industry.  The Attorney General's efforts include securing approximately $20 billion for California in the National Mortgage Settlement and sponsoring the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, a package of laws instituting permanent mortgage-related reforms.

SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced her sponsorship of two bills that will help provide enhanced support to law enforcement agencies in their investigations of transnational criminal organizations.

Transnational criminal organizations have made California the single biggest point of entry for methamphetamine into the United States, with 70% entering through the San Diego Port of Entry. These organizations transfer billions of dollars out of the U.S. through California. As much as $40 billion in illicit funds were laundered in the state in 2012, according to Attorney General Harris’ 2014 report, Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime.

“Transnational criminal organizations rely on a steady flow of billions of dollars in laundered money to support their operations,” Attorney General Harris said.  “The legislation I am sponsoring will equip local and state law enforcement with more tools to target their illicit profits and dismantle these dangerous organizations.” 

Senate Bill 298  (Block, D-San Diego) would add money laundering to the list of predicate offenses for wiretapping under Penal Code  629.52 if the money laundering is associated with a organized criminal group and the value of the transactions exceeds $50,000. Currently, the existing wiretap statute only applies to drug trafficking, human trafficking and street gang felonies – which all have a direct nexus to transnational criminal organizations. This bill would allow law enforcement to utilize wiretaps to investigate financial fraud, allowing them to target the financial pipeline that sustains the operations of transnational criminal organizations. 

“If money is the root of all evil, then money laundering is the insidious offshoot,” said State Senator Marty Block. “Money laundering camouflages the profit from heinous crimes such as human and weapons trafficking and allows criminals to profit from and expand their operations. SB 298 hands law enforcement another tool to fight the most grievous crimes they face.” 

Assembly Bill 443 (Alejo, D-Salinas) would allow for the preservation of criminal assets before charges are filed under the following circumstances:

• at least $10,000 is at stake
• the judge finds a substantial probability that charges will be filed and the government will prevail
• the proceeds will otherwise be destroyed or made unavailable
• the need to preserve outweighs any hardship of the party impacted.

AB 443 addresses the gap in law that prevents prosecutors from freezing criminal proceeds prior to an indictment being filed, leading to criminal organizations disposing of these assets once a charge has been brought against them. The bill will allow prosecutors to effectively disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations and other sophisticated criminal profiteers.

“Gang violence and crime continue to be serious problems across the state, and we must take steps to diminish the grip they have on many of our most disadvantaged communities,” said Assemblyman Alejo.  “Many of these organizations are operating in cities that I represent - Salinas, Watsonville, Soledad and King City. They use our kids as pawns, many of whom wind up in jail or dead, and they do this all to make a profit.   By freezing the assets of criminal organizations, we hit them where it hurts most, and we can put a halt to their operations.”

In March 2014, Attorney General Harris issued “Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime,” the first comprehensive report analyzing the current state of transnational criminal organizations in California. The report is the first comprehensive report analyzing the current state of transnational criminal organizations in California and the threats they pose to the state’s public safety and economy.

The report also outlined recommendations to address this problem, which include increased funding for state anti-narcotics trafficking task forces and additional coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in combatting transnational criminal organizations. The report is available here: https://oag.ca.gov/transnational-organized-crime.

Following the release of this report, Attorney General Harris led a delegation of state attorneys general to Mexico to strengthen working relationships between the governments of both countries and enhance efforts to combat transnational crime. The delegation met with Mexican state attorneys general and federal officials to discuss the issues of drug, human and firearms trafficking, money laundering and high-tech crime.

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and the four other state attorneys general also signed a letter of intent with the National Banking and Securities Commission of Mexico to establish a bi-national working group on money laundering enforcement. 

In October 2014, Attorney General Harris announced the creation of a new anti-methamphetamine team of Special Agents based Los Angeles funded by a $1 million federal grant. The team will be comprised of six Special Agents assigned to investigate illicit activities related to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine in California and will work in a coordinated effort with the other 18 existing California Department of Justice task forces. 

Over the past four years, California Department of Justice special agents have seized over $200 million in cash, 10,000 kilos of cocaine, 12,000 pounds of methamphetamine, and taken nearly 12,000 illegal guns off the streets in California.

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on the San Diego Superior Court verdict in People v. Bollaert.  Kevin Bollaert, the operator of a cyber-exploitation website posting nude photos of individuals without their consent, was found guilty on 6 counts of extortion and 21 counts of identity theft.  This is  the first criminal prosecution of a cyber-exploitation (otherwise known as “revenge porn”) website operator.

“Bollaert’s actions are illegal and they will not be tolerated in California. And if you run a website like this, you’re going to go to prison.  Just because you’re sitting behind a computer, committing what is essentially a cowardly and criminal act, you will not be shielded from the law or jail,” said Attorney General Harris. “Crime that focuses on the most vulnerable and voiceless are some of the most horrendous crimes. The result of this conduct was to make people feel shame and embarrassment in the context of their family, their community, and their workplace. “

In December 2013, Attorney General Harris announced the arrest of Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, of San Diego, who operated the cyber-exploitation website ugotposted.com. He was charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion.

An investigation conducted by Attorney General Harris and the Department of Justice found that from December 2012 to approximately September 2013, Bollaert created the website ugotposted.com, which allowed the anonymous, public posting of private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission. Commonly known as revenge porn, the photos are typically obtained consensually by the poster during a prior relationship or are stolen or hacked. Unlike many other revenge porn websites where the subject of the photos is anonymous, ugotposted.com required that the poster include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link. As a result, the victims experienced severe harassment through social media, at their places of work and in other communities.

Bollaert created a second website, changemyreputation.com, in October 2012, which he used when individuals contacted ugotposted.com requesting that content be removed from the site.  Bollaert would extort victims by replying with a changemyreputation.com email address and offering to remove the content for a fee ranging from $250 to $350, which could be paid using an online PayPal account referenced in the emails.  Bollaert told investigators that he made around $900 per month from advertising on the site and records obtained from his changemyreputation.com PayPal account indicate that he received payments totaling  approximately $30,000.

California Penal Code sections 530.5 and 653m (b) make it illegal to willfully obtain someone’s personal identifying information, including name, age and address, for any unlawful purpose, including with the intent to annoy or harass. California Penal Code section 520 makes it illegal to commit the crime of extortion, which includes obtaining money through the threat to reveal a victim’s secret.

Bollaert’s arrest arose from a six-month investigation by the California Attorney General’s eCrime unit. 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.

In February 2014, Attorney General Harris announced the arrest of Casey E. Meyering, 28, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who operated the website WinByState.com. he was charged with 5 felony extortion counts and is currently awaiting trial on February 23, 2015. 

SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of four suspects accused of operating a sex trafficking ring out of Emeryville, California. Acucare Oriental Massage co-owner Jimmy Gong Lee and Tom Loi are also accused of making bribes to an Emeryville Police Captain—who was working undercover, posing as a corrupt officer—to further their illegal business operations.

Today’s arrests are the result of a joint investigation by the California Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations  (HSI), the California Attorney General’s Tax Recovery and Criminal Enforcement  Task Force, the Emeryville Police Department, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California.

“Human trafficking is one of the world’s most profitable criminal enterprises, and it is having a devastating impact right here in our own backyard,” said Attorney General Harris. “Each year, thousands of women and children of all ages and backgrounds are forced into labor and prostitution. I thank our local, state and federal partners for fighting this serious threat and bringing these perpetrators to justice.”

“Illegal ventures like this degrade the quality of life in our neighborhoods as well as the women involved,” said Tatum King, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Francisco.  “HSI will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners to identify, disrupt, and dismantle these kinds of enterprises that prey on the vulnerable and often bring other criminal activity into the area.” 

Defendants Jimmy Gong Lee, 55, Tom Loi 59, Wei Kuang, 56 and Rong Liu, 37, were arrested today and face a total of 30 felony state charges for their respective roles in the operation. The charges include conspiracy, pimping, pandering, bribery, and tax fraud. Lee and Loi are being held at the San Francisco County Jail and Kuang and Liu are being held at the Alameda County Jail on $150,000 bail each and will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.  Lee and Loi are also facing federal charges. 

The joint investigation revealed that Acucare Oriental Massage was operating as a brothel, with young Asian females being used for commercial sex and being replaced every two weeks. Lee and Liu owned the business while Kuang worked at the front desk, collected money, and provided condoms. A series of undercover operations revealed that “johns” (men paying for sex) would be buzzed in to enter the business, pay approximately $60 to Kuang, and then select a “masseuse” from a group of women. The women would then negotiate further fees for sexual services, a portion of which was given back to Kuang. 

When Emeryville authorities began questioning the legitimacy of the business, Lee gave Loi thousands of  dollars to pay off an Emeryville Police Captain, who was working undercover as a corrupt police officer. In a series of recorded meetings between March 2013 and May 2014, Loi gave the Captain a total of $24,000 in bribes—roughly $2,000 a month—not to shut down Acucare. 

On June 5, 2014, agents with the California Department of Justice and HSI executed search warrants on the Acucare Oriental Massage in Emeryville and Lee’s residence in San Francisco.  In addition to shutting down Acucare, agents recovered $69,000 cash, and evidence showing that Lee, Liu and Kuang were operating a brothel. 

Attorney General Harris has made the fight against human trafficking a priority for the California Department of Justice. In March of this year, the Office of the Attorney General released a report, Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime, which is the first comprehensive report analyzing the current state of transnational criminal organizations in California (http://oag.ca.gov/transnational-organized-crime). The report identified human trafficking as one of the emerging activities being undertaken by these organizations, and made recommendations to address this issue, including funding state task forces to investigate and disrupt these organizations.

Attorney General Harris has been a strong advocate for increased collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies during the investigation and prosecution of the crime of human trafficking.  She has also advocated for early and frequent collaboration between law enforcement and victim service providers.

In 2012, Attorney General Harris created a Human Trafficking Work Group and released a report, The State of Human Trafficking in California, which outlined the growing prevalence of the crime of human trafficking in the state (http://www.oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking/2012). The report describes the evolving challenges California faces in addressing this crime, which has become a $32 billion-a-year global industry. California—a populous border state with a significant immigrant population—is one of the top destinations for trafficking human beings.

Please note that these are only allegations and, as with all defendants, those named here must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Attorney General’s Office has been awarded nearly $750,000 in federal grant funds for recidivism reduction efforts.  The funds, which come from the U.S. Department of Justice Second Chance Act, will be directed to “Back on Track  LA,” a recidivism reduction pilot initiative under development by the California Department of Justice in Los Angeles County in partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), Los Angeles County Probation Department, local community colleges, a local charter school and private foundations.  Back on Track LA is one of only four awardees in the country of this Second Chance Act grant.

“We must reject the false choice of being ‘tough’ or ‘soft’ on crime,” Attorney General Harris said. “This funding recognizes the importance of a smart-on-crime approach to criminal justice that focuses on holding offenders accountable and putting them on track to productive, law abiding lives.” 

“The Department of Justice is proud to support innovative efforts like California's 'Back on Track LA' program that use evidence-based strategies to strengthen public safety, reduce recidivism, and improve individual lives,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “Under the Justice Department's Smart on Crime initiative, we are working with programs like this one to break the cycle of criminality and incarceration that traps too many communities and devastates too many families, and to help build the more effective criminal justice system that all Americans deserve.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff John Scott said, “It is exciting news to learn that we have received grant funding to support the creative collaboration and partnerships that are cornerstones of the Back on Track Program. This grant funding will assist with the smart on crime initiative of intensive in-jail programming followed by appropriate re-entry services upon release. I am pleased to part of this strategic effort.”

Chief Probation Officer Jerry Powers added, “As the largest Probation Department in the nation we are pleased to partner in the Back on Track LA program which will allow us to have further impact on the transition of inmates back in to the the community by offering case management services directly inside the custody setting such as cognitive behavioral therapy and other mental health services. Upon release, the Probation team will also be able to assist in linking inmates to additional services in the community.”

In November 2013, Attorney General Harris created the Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry, an office designed to curb recidivism in the state by partnering with counties and District Attorneys on best practices and policy initiatives. The new division is tasked with the development of a statewide definition of recidivism, identifying grants to fund the creation and expansion of innovative anti-recidivism programs and using technology to facilitate more effective data analysis and recidivism metrics.

In May 2014, Attorney General Harris announced the creation of her recidivism reduction pilot initiative in Los Angeles County. The Back on Track LA program will deliver critical education and comprehensive re-entry services before and after an offender is released from jail. The pilot program will build on the Sheriff Department’s “Education Based Incarceration Program,” through a partnership with FiveKeys Charter School and the Los Angeles Community College District – specifically, Los Angeles Mission College and Los Angeles Trade-Technical College– and Santa Clarita Community College District’s College of the Canyons. The partnership will provide higher education opportunities to incarcerated participants including prerequisites to community college degrees, credentials and certificates.

The Back on Track LA program will focus on the critical time following an individual’s release from jail, by providing re-entry services essential for success, including employment and life skill services. Back on Track LA will emphasize accountability by assigning participants a case manager or coach to develop a plan that holds individuals accountable to their families, communities and victims.

Individuals will be enrolled in the Back on Track LA pilot program for 24-30 months—divided into 12-18 months in-custody and 12 months out-of-custody. Participants will consist of non-serious, non-violent and non-sexual crime offenders between the ages of 18 to 30 years old who are incarcerated in the LASD jail system following the implementation of Public Safety Realignment.  

The United States Department of Justice grant is funded through The Second Chance Act. The Act, which was signed into law in 2008, provides funds to improve outcomes for those previously incarcerated as they reintegrate into their communities.  Through a competitive grant process, this legislation authorizes federal grants to government and nonprofit agencies working to reduce recidivism for those returning to local communities from prison, jails, and juvenile facilities. 

In 2005, then-San Francisco District Attorney Harris created a reentry initiative called Back on Track, which aimed to reduce recidivism among certain low-level, non-violent drug offenders. Over a two-year period, the program reduced recidivism among its graduates to less than 10 percent. Back on Track was designated as a model for law enforcement by the U.S. Department of Justice.