The holding in National Lawyers Guild may prove beneficial to police departments in lessening the financial burden placed on them by the enactment of AB 748. The judge then can sign an arrest warrant.   Records of other types of police misconduct are still secret. California Public Records Act. Seek the advice of an attorney before acting or relying upon any information in this communiqué. The information collected by an agency must only be used to further its purpose. The law requires that an agency respond to any Public Record Act request in 10 days, acknowledging the request, giving a timeline for a full response and informing the requestor if they are claiming any exemptions.11 An agency can ask for a 14-day extension to respond to the request. Police must get a judge’s written approval to conduct searches of private property in criminal investigations (unless the person in possession of the property consents to a search). Please see our Content Redistribution Policy at multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/content_redistribution/. The act declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state. CPRA Manual In 1968, the California Legislature enacted the California Public Records Act (CPRA) under Government Code (GC) sections 6250-6270. Also, while you can access the records of investigation for serious uses of force regardless of whether the agency found that the use of force was wrong, for allegations of sexual assault and job-related dishonesty, you can only access those records if the agency determined that the officer was guilty of misconduct in violation of policy, and the time to appeal that determination has passed.4, In addition, the agency has the right to redact or withhold certain confidential information, like the names of witnesses, or the home address of the officer involved.5, The term "record" should include all documents related to the incident, including any reports created by the agency, the records of its investigations, photographic and video evidence, and the agency's disciplinary decisions.6 If you are only interested in certain types of records—like a disciplinary decision or an autopsy report — you can request the specific type of record you want, and that may actually help you get a response to your request more quickly. You also have the option to inspect the records by looking at them at the agency during its regular business hours, which you can do for free. In its findings and declarations, mindful of the right of individuals’ privacy, the Legislature declared it was the publics right to access information concerning the peoples business. To decipher abbreviations used in the incident logs, in the drop-down menu under Resources in the upper right select Glossary. In 2018, the California Legislature passed SB1421, The Right To Know Act, which gives the public the right to see certain records relating to police misconduct and serious uses of force. You can now request these records under the Public Records Act ("PRA") — a law that gives the public the right to see the non-confidential documents of our state and local government agencies. There are two main types of reports written by police officers – arrest reports and crime or incident reports. The Guild brought action to recover the invoice cost. In doing so, there is constant debate and deliberation among legislators, as well as the committees, and subcommittees that support the Legislature. Combining legal know-how with cutting-edge technology, ARC provides comprehensive and cost-effective support for all records-related matters, including PRA requests. In its findings and declarations, mindful of the right of individuals' privacy, the Legislature declared it was the public’s right to access information concerning the people’s business. Attorneys’ Fees in Reverse PRA Actions - Pasadena Police Officers Association v. City of Pasadena Additionally, the CPRA exemptions are permissive rather than mandatory. That information includes factual circumstances concerning an arrest, including the name and description of the arrestee and charges associated with the arrest, and factual circumstances concerning "complaints or requests for assistance" including a description of what crimes were alleged and whether any weapons, property, or injuries were involved.