Beginning on July 1, 2018, law enforcement agencies in California, starting with the eight largest, began collecting stop data in compliance with Assembly Bill 953 (Racial and Identity Profiling Act). The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department was one of the large “Tier One Agencies” that started collecting the data on that date.
The data was collected on stops of people who were arrested, detained or searched, including consensual searches. The Sheriff’s Department submitted the data collected from January 1,
2019 through December 31, 2019 to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) as
required. That data will soon be released by the DOJ to the public.
Each stop required deputies to answer 21-35 questions, collecting up to 125 data points per stop. Data was collected on 66,466 individuals during 61,343 stops during the required time frame. The information collected is based on the deputy’s perception of the individual’s identity (i.e. race, gender, sexual orientation, age and several other factors) and the actions taken during the stop.
The Sheriff’s Department proactively worked to comply with AB953 while balancing privacy concerns of the public and cumbersome reporting requirements. To that end, our Data Services Division developed an application-based reporting system with built in controls that ensures accurate reporting and efficiency in data collection.
We believe the data affirms the professionalism of our deputies. We continue to strive to earn the trust of our communities, promote transparency and maintain the highest level of public safety service.
Upon the release by DOJ, we will welcome the opportunity to answer questions related to our data. In the meantime, we will continue to examine the work we do to ensure that every contact is legally justified, our communities are served with professionalism and dignity, as well as working to keep San Diego the safest urban county in the nation.
