Report 2021-105 Recommendation 13 Responses
Report 2021-105: Law Enforcement Departments Have Not Adequately Guarded Against Biased Conduct (Release Date: April 2022)
Recommendation #13 To: Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of
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 CDCR 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.
6-Month Agency Response
OPOS Background Investigation Unit currently reviews all social media platforms, open websites, and the "CLEAR" online investigation platform to ascertain if an applicant has any content or history indicative of disqualifying biases such as hate groups or confirmed gang affiliation. Direction will be added to the Background Investigation Procedures to ensure investigators are completing a thorough review of social media sites.
6-Month Update: Section 5 of the BIP has been revised. Training specific to this CAP item was completed September 2022.
Supporting documentation will be provided, per CSA's direction.
- Completion Date: September 2022
- Response Date: November 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented
In our audit report, we noted that CDCR had developed a social media investigation course for its background investigators, which included strategies for navigating social media accounts and for how to locate applicants on social media. However, we further noted that the training did not include guidance for how to identify or recognize biased content. CDCR has now provided an updated set of background investigation procedures that define both bias and hate activities, and provide guidance on identifying them. The updated procedures also establish expectations for how background investigators should document their reviews of applicants' social media pages.
60-Day Agency Response
OPOS Background Investigation Unit currently reviews all social media platforms, open websites, and the "CLEAR" online investigation platform to ascertain if an applicant has any content or history indicative of disqualifying biases such as hate groups or confirmed gang affiliation. Direction will be added to the Background Investigation Procedures to ensure investigators are completing a thorough review of social media sites.
Proof of Practice Documents will include:
- Background Investigation Procedures (Section 5).
- Estimated Completion Date: October 2022
- Response Date: July 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2021-105
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.