California pulls access to LAPD gang data in database after prosecutors say officers falsified records
As 16 Los Angeles police officers remain under investigation for possibly fabricating evidence, California’s attorney general revoked access to data that the LAPD entered in a state gang database.
Access to the LAPD data was revoked by the California Department of Justice, which oversees the database known as CalGang, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said. That information makes up nearly 25% of the roughly 78,000 records in the database, according to Becerra.
Last week, three LAPD officers were charged with falsifying field interview cards with information that would later tag people as gang members or associates.
State officials conducted an independent audit of LAPD records in the database after reports of alleged officer misuse earlier this year.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: CalGang is only as good as the data that is put into it,” Becerra said in a statement announcing the change. “If a quarter of the program’s data is suspect, then the utility of the entire system rightly comes under the microscope.”
An additional 16 Los Angeles officers are under criminal investigation for potentially falsely identifying people as gang members and fabricating evidence, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
“The case was submitted on 19 officers total,” said Greg Risling, a spokesman for the DA’s office. “The remaining cases are under review.”
The LAPD declined to comment on the additional officers facing potential charges.
The three charged officers each face one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and multiple counts of filing false police reports and preparing false documentary evidence, according to a 59-count criminal complaint filed by the district attorney’s office.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said last week that because of the ongoing misconduct investigations, the department no longer uses CalGang other than to remove people from it.
The LAPD said in a statement Friday that it is investigating 21 more officers regarding possible misuse of field identification cards. Field interview cards are used by officers to conduct interviews while they are on duty.
CalGang is a tool for law enforcement agencies to share gang-related intelligence.
“Public safety tools must provide a real benefit to the public and withstand the durability test of constant scrutiny,” Becerra said. “It should now be obvious to everyone: CalGang must change.”
Becerra encouraged law enforcement agencies to review their own gang records and calls on lawmakers to revisit the system.
The issue was first discovered when a mother reported to the department that a letter from the LAPD mistakenly identified her son as a gang member, according to a police news release in January. The department found several falsifications in the document and initiated an investigation into the officers, the release said.
The LAPD said in January that up to 20 officers were under investigation for falsely identifying people as gang members in the database. The LAPD said it was ordering an audit of its CalGang activity.
That was followed in February by the state DOJ announcing that it would independently review LAPD’s records in the database as well as policies regarding CalGang in response to the reports of officer abuse.
