It’s been four years since former Governor Jerry Brown signed California Senate Bill 1421, which requires police departments and agencies to make public records relating to certain instances of police misconduct.
It’s been one year since current Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Senate Bill 16, which expands public access to more records.
But implementing those bills in a meaningful way remains a work in progress for many California municipalities. Recent steps taken in the Bay Area reveal some of the issues that remain.
San Jose’s Independent Police Auditor, or IPA, created a searchable database for its records concerning complaints and investigations into police misconduct.
While this site, which launched last Friday, is free and open to the public, a disclaimer at the bottom of the portal’s front page reads: “The IPA is not the custodian of all records related to an officer misconduct case.”
For items such as body cam footage, site visitors are directed to the Public Records Center of the San Jose Police Department, where they can peruse previously released records and make additional requests.