Quarterly Newsletter
Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division
Q3 2026
The Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division (POSAD) Quarterly Newsletter is a quarterly status report that informs the California law enforcement community of recent updates, projects, and trainings related to certification and decertification.
POSAD DISTRICT REORGANIZATION NOW IN EFFECT
The Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division (POSAD) has completed its reorganization of the Professional Conduct Bureaus. Effective August 1, 2026, the Professional Conduct Central Bureau merged with the Professional Conduct Northern Bureau, reducing the division’s three-district structure to two: Northern and Southern. Updated district boundaries are reflected in the new district map on the POST Website.
With this change, POST personnel previously assigned to cases in the central part of the state will now conduct investigations throughout the expanded Northern District, from the Oregon border through Kern and Ventura counties. Your agency may continue working with familiar POST staff or may see different staff assigned to your cases.
The reorganization is intended to improve resource allocation, support more timely investigations, and promote the consistent application of the laws and regulations governing peace officer serious misconduct investigations and decertification proceedings.
There is no other impact to agencies. Reporting procedures and existing POST processes remain unchanged.
If you need to reach out to the Professional Conduct Northern Bureau for any reason, please email the Northern Support inbox or contact Bureau Chief Brian South at (916) 227-0244. The Professional Conduct Southern Bureau will continue to serve the Southern District, as outlined in the map.
ADDRESS OF RECORD STATISTICS
Total Active, Separated, or Retired Peace Officers
- Total Addresses of Records: 56,014
- Personal Address or PO Box Designations: 24,538
- Agency Address Designations: 31,476
Active Peace Officers
- Total Addresses of Records: 48,897
- Personal Address or P.O. Box Designations: 20,524
- Agency Address Designations: 28,373
CURRENT 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 as of September 26, 2025. For further statistics, please visit the POST Data Warehouse.
- Total Approved AMRs: 49,706
- Total Assigned Cases: 42,168
- Total Open Cases: 6,834
- Open Cases w/Agency: 2,108
- Open Cases w/POST: 4,726
- Total Closed Cases: 35,334
- 1205(a)(3) – Physical Abuse/Excessive or Unreasonable Use of Force: 19,906 allegations
- 1205(a)(5) – Demonstrating Bias: 15,070 allegations
- 1205(a)(2) – Abuse of Power: 9,572 allegations
CURRENT CERTIFICATION ACTION STATISTICS
From January 1, 2026, to September 9, 2026, POST has:
- Issued 47 Immediate Temporary Suspensions.
- Revoked 50 peace officer certifications.
- Eight were default revocations, which occur when peace officers who have received notice of revocation proceedings from POST fail to submit an appeal.
- Forty-two were revocations based on felony or misdemeanor convictions identified in Government Code section 1029, occurring after January 1, 2022.
- Deemed 37 peace officers ineligible due to a felony or misdemeanor conviction identified in Government Code section 1029, occurring before January 1, 2022.
- Received 61 Voluntary Surrenders.
PEACE OFFICER STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD AND COMMISSION SERIOUS MISCONDUCT HEARING UPDATE
On July 16, 2026, the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board (“Board”) convened at POST Headquarters in West Sacramento, CA, to hear two cases, both of which resulted in recommendations to the Commission to revoke the peace officer’s certification.
Following the Commission’s review at its September 17, 2026, meeting at the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in San Jose, CA, the Commission voted unanimously, in both cases, to uphold the Board’s recommendations for revocation.
Both cases will now proceed to the filing of accusations and full evidentiary hearings before an Administrative Law Judge, pending appeals by either subject officer.
During the past review cycle, POSAD issued eight Notices of Intent to Revoke. Of those eight cases, one officer appealed, three officers voluntarily surrendered their certifications, two cases resulted in default revocations, and two cases remain pending but are expected to result in default revocations. Accordingly, and in the interest of fiscal responsibility, the Board will not meet in October. Any appeals received will be heard at the Board’s January 5-6, 2027, hearing at POST Headquarters in West Sacramento, CA.
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT BUREAUS UPDATE
Senate Bill (SB) 2 (2021) requires an agency to provide a report to POST when there are allegations of serious misconduct as defined in California Penal Code section 13510.8. The agency should report the findings from its administrative investigation, but should not include a specific finding regarding serious misconduct for purposes of decertification.
Additionally, any settlement agreement that includes an agency finding that “no serious misconduct” occurred related to SB 2 is not binding on POST. POST will review the reports and conduct an independent investigation to determine if the conduct constitutes serious misconduct. Furthermore, the Affidavit of Separation requires a certification to accurately document the reason for separation.
MARK43 RECOMMENDATIONS AND REMINDERS
The following is a list of recommendations to help agency Mark43 reporters manage and submit their Mark43 reports.
- Agency email notification of a POST Public Complaint. Respond with a linked Mark43 report within ten days of the agency receiving the agency notification of a Public Complaint (PUBLIC-26-000XXX).
- Submit draft and rejected reports. Review all draft reports for submission. Complete assigned tasks and resubmit rejected reports.
- Body-worn camera (BWC) footage. Do not upload BWC footage in the Attachments card. Indicate in the Narrative card if BWC footage is available.
- Barracuda email spam filter. This spam filter causes problems when an agency reporter resets their password. If your agency uses the Barracuda spam filter, please notify your IT department to submit an exception to the rule to allow Mark43 emails with embedded links to pass through the filter.
- User profile information. Please confirm your email address is correct and ensure the phone number is a direct line to the agency reporter. Current profile information is important, as POST may need to conduct a follow-up to a Mark43 report. Send an email to the Complaint Intake inbox if your information needs to be updated.
The following is a reminder to review and update your Mark43 users:
The following is a reminder for managing permissions in Mark43:
- Manage Permissions. As new Mark43 users have been added to different agencies, POST has noticed an increase in requests for locating previously submitted Agency Misconduct Reports. To ensure every Mark43 user at your agency has access to all reports submitted, please adjust the permissions on each report you submit to POST. To do this, click on the “Manage Permissions” (padlock) icon at the top of the Mark43 page. Do not touch any of the preset role/group settings already established. Select “+ Role” then type, select your agency, and change the drop-down to “Can Manage.”
Should you have any questions about responding to a POST Public Complaint, submitting an Agency Misconduct Report, submitting an Agency Supplemental Report, or managing permissions for your Mark43 reports, please contact the Intake and Disposition Bureau at (916) 227-2822.
UPCOMING TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
POST Intake and Disposition staff will be conducting a free virtual training for Serious Misconduct Reporting with Mark43. To sign up for the training course below, please visit EventBrite.
Virtual POST Mark43 Agency User Training
- Wednesday, November 4, 2026
FREQUENTLY USED FORMS
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 POST COMMISSION SERIOUS MISCONDUCT HEARING DATES
December 03, 2026
9:00 AM - Until Adjourned
POST Headquarters
860 Stillwater Road, Suite 100
West Sacramento, CA 95605
UPCOMING PEACE OFFICER STANDARDS ACCOUNTABILITY ADVISORY BOARD HEARING DATES
January 5-6, 2027
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
POST Headquarters
860 Stillwater Road, Suite 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.
View Map
Professional Conduct Northern Bureau
Professional Conduct Southern Bureau