Bill Text: CA AB2621 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Law enforcement training.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-04 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 4). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [AB2621 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2621-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Senate
May 20, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 04, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 11, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2621
| Introduced by Assembly Member Gabriel (Coauthor: Assembly Member Petrie-Norris) |
February 14, 2024 |
An act to amend Sections 13519.6 and 18108 of the Penal Code, relating to law enforcement training.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2621, as amended, Gabriel.
Law enforcement training.
Existing law defines a “hate crime” as a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of actual or perceived characteristics of the victim, including, among other things, race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, in consultation with specified subject-matter experts, to develop a course of instruction that trains law enforcement on, among other things, indicators of hate crimes and techniques, responses to hate crime waves against certain groups, including Arab and Islamic communities, and methods to handle incidents of hate crimes in a noncombative manner.
This bill would require instruction to include identifying when a gun violence restraining order is appropriate to prevent a hate crime and the procedure for seeking a gun violence restraining
order. The bill would additionally require instruction on responses to hate crime waves against specified groups, including the LGBTQ and Jewish communities.
Existing law allows a court to issue a gun violence restraining order prohibiting and enjoining a named person from having custody or control of any firearms or ammunition if the person poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to themselves or another by having custody or control of a firearm or ammunition. Existing law establishes a civil restraining order process to accomplish that purpose, including authorizing the issuance of an ex parte order, as specified.
Existing law requires specified law enforcement agencies to develop, adopt, and implement policies and standards relating to gun violence restraining orders. Existing law requires these policies to include, among other things, standards and procedures for requesting and serving an ex parte gun
violence restraining order or procedures on the responsibility of officers to attend gun violence restraining order hearings.
This bill would revise the above-described policies and standards to include, among other things, an officer’s obligation to diligently participate in the evidence presentation process at hearings and the procedure for storing firearms surrendered in compliance with a gun violence restraining order. The bill would require law enforcement agencies, as specified, to make information about the standards and policies available to all officers. By imposing additional duties on local agencies, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 13519.6 of the Penal Code is amended to read:13519.6.
(a) (1) The commission, in consultation with subject-matter experts, including, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies, civil rights groups, and academic experts, and the Department of Justice, shall develop guidelines and a course of instruction and training for law enforcement officers who are employed as peace officers, or who are not yet employed as a peace officer but are enrolled in a training academy for law enforcement officers, addressing hate crimes. “Hate crimes,” for purposes of this section, has the same meaning as in Section 422.55.(2) The commission shall consult with the subject-matter experts in paragraph (1) if the guidelines or course of
instruction are updated.
(3) The guidelines and course of instruction developed pursuant to this section are not regulations as that term is used in the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 commencing with Section 11340 of Part 1 of Division 3 of the Government Code). This paragraph is declaratory of existing law.
(b) The course shall make maximum use of audio and video communication and other simulation methods and shall include instruction in each of the following:
(1) Indicators of hate crimes.
(2) The impact of these crimes on the victim, the victim’s family, and the community, and the assistance and compensation available to victims.
(3) Knowledge of the laws dealing with hate crimes and the legal rights of, and the remedies available to, victims of hate crimes.
(4) Law enforcement procedures, reporting, and documentation of hate crimes.
(5) Techniques and methods to handle incidents of hate crimes in a noncombative manner.
(6) Multimission criminal extremism, which means the nexus of certain hate crimes, antigovernment extremist crimes, anti-reproductive-rights crimes, and crimes committed in whole or in part because of the victims’ actual or perceived homelessness.
(7) The special problems inherent in some categories of hate crimes,
including gender-bias crimes, disability-bias crimes, including those committed against homeless persons with disabilities, anti-immigrant crimes, and anti-Arab and anti-Islamic crimes, and techniques and methods to handle these special problems.
(8) Preparation for, and response to, anti-Arab/Middle Eastern and anti-Islamic, anti-Arab, anti-Middle Eastern, anti-Islamic, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Black, anti-Native American, anti-immigrant, anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander, and anti-Jewish hate crime waves, and any other future hate crime waves that the Attorney General determines are likely.
(9) Identifying when a gun violence restraining order may be an appropriate tool for preventing hate crimes and the procedures for seeking a gun violence restraining order.
(c) The guidelines developed by the commission shall incorporate the procedures and techniques specified in subdivision (b) and shall include the model hate crimes policy framework for use by law enforcement agencies in adopting a hate crimes policy pursuant to Section 422.87. The elements of the model hate crimes policy framework shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) A message from the law enforcement agency’s chief executive officer to the agency’s officers and staff concerning the importance of hate crime laws and the agency’s commitment to enforcement.
(2) The definition of “hate crime” in Section 422.55.
(3) References to hate crime statutes including Section 422.6.
(4) A title-by-title specific protocol that agency personnel are required to follow, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) Preventing and preparing for likely hate crimes by, among other things, establishing contact with persons and communities who are likely targets, and forming and cooperating with community hate crime prevention and response networks.
(B) Responding to reports of hate crimes, including reports of hate crimes committed under the color of authority.
(C) Accessing assistance, by, among other things, activating the Department of Justice hate crime rapid response protocol when necessary.
(D) Providing victim assistance and followup, including community followup.
(E) Reporting.
(5) A list of all requirements that Section 422.87 or any other law mandates a law enforcement agency to include in its hate crime policy.
(d) (1) The course of training leading to the basic certificate issued by the commission shall include the course of instruction described in subdivision (a).
(2) Every state law enforcement and correctional agency, and every local law enforcement and correctional agency to the extent that this requirement does not create a state-mandated local program cost, shall provide its peace officers with the basic course of instruction as revised pursuant to the act that amends this section in the 2003–04 session of the Legislature, beginning with officers who have not previously received the training. Correctional agencies shall adapt the course as necessary.
(e) (1) The commission shall, subject to an appropriation of funds for this purpose in the annual Budget Act or other statute,
for any basic course, incorporate the November 2017 video course developed by the commission entitled “Hate Crimes: Identification and Investigation,” or any successor video, into the basic course curriculum.
(2) The commission shall make the video course described in paragraph (1) available to stream via the learning portal.
(3) Each peace officer shall, within one year of the commission making the course available to stream via the learning portal, be required to complete the November 2017 video facilitated course developed by the commission entitled “Hate Crimes: Identification and Investigation,” the course identified in paragraph (4), or any other commission-certified hate crimes course via the learning portal or in-person instruction.
(4) The commission shall develop and periodically update an interactive course of instruction and training for in-service peace officers on the topic of hate crimes and make the course available via the learning portal. The course shall cover the fundamentals of hate crime law and preliminary investigation of hate crime incidents, and shall include updates on recent changes in the law, hate crime trends, and best enforcement practices.
(5) The commission shall require the course described in paragraph (3) to be taken by in-service peace officers every six years.
(f) As used in this section, “peace officer” means any person designated as a peace officer by Section 830.1 or 830.2.
SEC. 2.
Section 18108 of the Penal Code is amended to read:18108.
(a) Each municipal police department and county sheriff’s department, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, and the University of California and California State University Police Departments shall, on or before January 1, 2021, develop, adopt, and implement written policies and standards relating to gun violence restraining orders. The policies and standards shall be updated, as necessary, to incorporate changes in the law governing gun violence restraining orders.(b) (1) The policies and standards shall instruct officers on the use of gun violence restraining orders in appropriate situations to prevent future violence involving a firearm and shall
encourage
the use of deescalation practices for officer and civilian safety when responding to incidents involving a firearm.
(2) The policies and standards shall instruct officers on the types of evidence a court considers in determining whether grounds exist for issuance of a gun violence restraining order pursuant to Section 18155.
(3) The policies and standards shall instruct officers to consider whether a gun violence restraining order may be necessary during a response to any residence that is associated with a firearm registration or record, during a response in which a firearm is present, or during a response in which one of the involved parties owns or possesses a firearm, or expressed an intent to acquire a firearm. The policies and standards should also inform officers
about the different procedures and protections afforded by different types of firearm-prohibiting emergency protective orders that are available to law enforcement petitioners and provide examples of situations in which each type of emergency protective order is most appropriate.
(4) The policies and standards should also instruct officers to consider whether a gun violence restraining order may be necessary during a contact with a person exhibiting mental health issues, including suicidal thoughts, statements, or actions, if that person owns or possesses a firearm or expressed an intent to acquire a firearm. The policies and standards shall encourage officers encountering situations in which there is reasonable cause to believe that the person poses an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to themselves or
another person by having custody or control of a firearm to consider obtaining a mental health evaluation of the person by a medically trained professional or to detain the person for mental health evaluation pursuant to agency policy relating to Section 5150 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The policies and standards should reflect the policy of the agency to prevent access to firearms by persons who, due to mental health issues, pose a danger to themselves or to others by owning or possessing a firearm. The policies and standards should encourage officers to provide information about mental health referral services during a contact with a person exhibiting mental health issues.
(c) The written policies and standards developed pursuant to this section shall be consistent with any gun violence restraining order training
administered by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, and shall include all of the following:
(1) Standards and procedures for requesting and serving a temporary emergency gun violence restraining order, including standards and procedures for determining prior to the expiration of a temporary emergency gun violence restraining order whether the subject of the temporary emergency gun violence restraining order presents an ongoing increased risk for violence so that a gun violence restraining order issued after notice and hearing may be necessary.
(2) Standards and procedures for requesting and serving an ex parte gun violence restraining order, including standards and procedures for determining prior to the expiration of an ex parte gun violence restraining order
whether the subject of the ex parte gun violence restraining order presents an ongoing increased risk for violence so that a gun violence restraining order issued after notice and hearing may be necessary.
(3) Standards and procedures for requesting and serving a gun violence restraining order issued after notice and hearing.
(4) Standards and procedures for the seizure of firearms and ammunition at the time of issuance of a temporary emergency gun violence restraining order.
(5) Standards and procedures for verifying or ensuring the removal of firearms and ammunition from the subject of a gun violence restraining order.
(6) Standards and procedures for
obtaining and serving a search warrant for firearms and ammunition.
(7) Responsibility of officers to attend gun violence restraining order hearings and diligently participate in the evidence presentation process.
(8) Standards and procedures for requesting renewals of expiring gun violence restraining orders.
(9) Standards and procedures for storing firearms surrendered pursuant to a gun violence restraining order.
(10) Standards and procedures for returning firearms upon the termination of a gun violence restraining order, including verification that the respondent is not otherwise legally prohibited from possessing firearms.
(11) Standards and procedures for addressing violations of a gun violence restraining order.
(d) Municipal police departments, county sheriff’s departments, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, and the University of California and California State University Police Departments are encouraged, but not required by this section, to train officers on standards and procedures implemented pursuant to this section, and may incorporate these standards and procedures into an academy course, preexisting annual training, or other continuing education program. Municipal police departments, county sheriff’s departments, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, and the University of California and California State University police departments shall make information about standards
and policies implemented pursuant to this section available to all officers.
(e) In developing and updating these policies and standards, law enforcement agencies are encouraged to consult with gun violence prevention experts, mental health professionals, domestic violence service providers, and other community-based organizations.
(f) Policies developed pursuant to this section shall be made available to the public upon request.
