Quarterly Newsletter
Peace Officer Standards & Accountability Division
Q1 2024
A YEAR IN REVIEW
Beginning January 1, 2023, law enforcement agencies employing peace officers began reporting allegations of serious misconduct to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). To date, POST has received more than 22,000 reports of serious misconduct from law enforcement agencies, as well as complaints received by the general public. The reports include retroactive cases that occurred between January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2023, where POST has the authority to pursue administrative action against peace officers who are found to have committed acts of dishonesty, sexual assault, or excessive use of force resulting in death or serious bodily injury. POST also has the authority to initiate investigations if made aware of allegations of serious misconduct against an officer through other means (e.g., media). Additionally, POST has taken a number of interim actions, in the form of Immediate Temporary Suspensions (ITS) and has revoked a number of peace officer certificates based on provisions within Senate Bill 2.
With all members appointed to the newly constituted Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board (Board) in November 2023, POST conducted its first Board hearing on December 14, 2023. Following that hearing, the proposed decertification cases were heard by the full Commission on March 7, 2024.
Per Penal Code section 13512, the Board is required to report annually on the activities of the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division, the Board, and the POST Commission, relating to the certification program. This report shall include the number of applicants for certification, the events reported, the number of investigations conducted, and the number of certificates surrendered or revoked, which POST has finished compiling for 2023. As such, the data reflected in the year end 2023 report is inclusive of the reporting requirements, as well as other data points that highlight case processing and the types and disposition of cases under review by POST. This initial report focuses primarily on the reporting of cases and the intake of allegations. As POST continues to work through the volume of investigations under its review and prepares cases for administrative hearings, further statistics on case outcomes should be available in future reports.
The 2023 Annual Report will be available on the POST Data Warehouse in Spring 2024.
2023 PEACE OFFICER CERTIFICATION AND DECERTIFICATION STATISTICS
The below statistics include a brief summary of total Agency Misconduct Reports (AMR), case volume, and the top three allegations. For further statistics, please visit the POST Data Warehouse.
- 23,180 – Total Approved AMRs
- 15,927 – Total Assigned Cases
- 10,404 – Total Open Cases
- 4,547 – Open Cases w/Agency
- 5,857 – Open Cases w/POST
- 5,523 – Total Closed Cases 1205(a)(3) – Physical Abuse/Excessive or Unreasonable Use of Force (10,249 allegations)
- 1205(a)(5) – Demonstrating Bias (7,072 allegations)
- 1205(a)(2) – Abuse of Power (3,184 allegations)
CURRENT CERTIFICATION ACTION STATISTICS
2024 YTD Certification Data:
- Appointments Approved – 1,635
- Affidavits of Separation – 1,879
- Proofs of Eligibility issued – 1,021
- Basic Certificates issued – 1,236
- Immediate Temporary Suspensions issued – 12
- Ineligibility Determinations – 13
- Revocations – 21
- Voluntary Surrenders – 12
ACTION ITEMS
As of March 15, 2024, POST has received a total of 14,967 Address of Record (AOR) designations. Of those, 14,543 have been received from active peace officers.
Commission Regulation 1215 requires that every actively certified peace officer provide a current AOR via their POST PASS account. This requirement includes the three-year period a peace officer’s certification remains active after separating from employment as a peace officer. Peace officers will have the option of designating their current employing agency or a personal mailing address. Peace officers who are assigned to a work location other than their agency headquarters, may use the second option to list their off-site work location. It is highly recommended that peace officers designate a personal address and a personal email address to ensure delivery of important certification related documents in a timely manner. POST is not responsible for delayed notifications due to the designation of the peace officer’s current employing agency as their AOR.
FREQUENTLY USED FORMS
Below are some quick links to frequently used POST peace officer certification forms:
POST BEGINS DEVELOPMENT ON INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATIONS GUIDELINES
Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division staff attended the first workshop to develop guidelines for Internal Affairs (IA) investigations. Subject-matter experts were brought together to assist in creating guidelines which will assist IA investigators with all parts of an IA investigation, from intake to investigation to closure.
Once completed, the guidelines will be available for any agency through the POST Website. If you have any questions, please contact Mike Radford, Bureau Chief with the Professional Conduct L.A. County Bureau, at (916) 214-8380.
INTAKE AND DISPOSITION BUREAU UPDATE
The Intake and Disposition Bureau (IDB) is responsible for several aspects that may relate to your duties at your agency. Please do not hesitate to contact us for help. The Intake and Disposition Bureau's roles include:
- Receiving complaints from the public;
- Receiving investigations or allegations of serious misconduct from law enforcement agencies;
- Following up with law enforcement agencies to ensure prompt reporting and disposition of complaints;
- Providing proper and timely notification of decertification actions to employment agencies, involved parties, and the public;
- Entering and maintaining decertification records; and,
- Providing user support to law enforcement agencies’ Mark43 reporters.
For all Mark43 law enforcement agency reporters, follow the guidance below:
- When managing permissions in Mark43, add your agency as a role with “can manage” permission settings.
- In the narrative card for a Mark43 Agency Misconduct Report (AMR), separate the SB 2 serious misconduct allegation(s) and its disposition(s) versus agency policy violation(s) and its disposition(s).
- If you would like a Mark43 Guide for Agency Misconduct Report and/or a Mark43 Guide for Agency Supplemental Submission, please send a request to the Complaint Intake inbox.
- If you need support regarding Mark43 or Mark43 Training, please email questions to the Mark43 User Support inbox.
The following helpful links can be found on POST’s Decertification webpage:
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding Intake and Disposition Bureau matters, please contact us at (916) 227-2822.
CERTIFICATION BUREAU UPDATE
The Certification Bureau at POST is responsible for several aspects that may relate to your duties at your agency. Please do not hesitate to contact us for help with appointments, background inquiries, or general certification questions. The Certification Bureau's roles include:
- Responding to Background Investigation inquiries for lateral candidates
- Reviewing Notices of Appointments and Affidavits of Separation
- Issuing Proofs of Eligibilities
- Reviewing applications for Basic, Professional, Dispatcher, and Records Supervisor certificates
- Updating the Peace Officer Certification Actions List on the POST Website and the National Decertification Index
Please be advised that effective December 06, 2023, the Certification Bureau is responding to Background Investigation inquiries for lateral candidates via GovQA
As an additional reminder, please make sure your agency is using the most current version of the Affidavit of Separation, POST Form 2-357 (pdf). When completing this form, Box 14 should be completed if the reason for separation is not related to serious misconduct as defined in Commission Regulation 1205. This is an open text box to allow for additional explanation of a non-serious misconduct related separation (i.e.: The officer resigned to relocate, the officer was separated due to a lack of fitness for duty, the officer retired after 25 years of service, the officer was separated during probation due to officer safety concerns, etc.).
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding Certification Bureau matters, please contact us at (916) 227-3765.
TRAINING SESSIONS/OPPORTUNITES
- April 10, 2024 – The Professional Conduct L.A. County Bureau will be presenting a one-hour workshop at the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association meeting. Police misconduct and POST’s role since the passing of the peace officer decertification act (formerly SB 2) will be discussed. For questions or additional information, please contact Mike Radford, Bureau Chief with the Professional Conduct L.A. County Bureau, at (916) 214-8380.
RECENTLY APPROVED RULEMAKING FILES RELATED TO CERTIFICATION
The following is a list of recently approved rulemaking files, related to peace officer certification, proposed by the Commission on POST. The Office of Administrative Law reviews these rulemaking files to ensure compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act.
View all Commission on POST Regulatory Actions.
UPCOMING PEACE OFFICER STANDARDS ACCOUNTABILITY ADVISORY BOARD HEARING DATES
May 15-16, 2024
9:00AM – 5:00PM
POST Headquarters
860 Stillwater Road, Ste 100
West Sacramento, CA 95605
July 24-25, 2024
9:00AM – 5:00PM
POST Headquarters
860 Stillwater Road, Ste 100
West Sacramento, CA 95605
DISTRICT CONTACTS
The Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division identified and separated the State of California into districts. Cases will be handled regionally. Below are the Law Enforcement Consultant contacts listed for each district.
Professional Conduct Northern Bureau
Professional Conduct Central Bureau
Professional Conduct Los Angeles County Bureau
Professional Conduct Southern Bureau