January 7, 2021

The California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (Board) recently announced the release of its fourth annual report on racial and identity profiling in policing in the state as required under the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015 (RIPA). Each year, the Board examines topics of importance to the community and law enforcement to make recommendations with the goal of effecting positive change and ultimately improving relationships and trust between law enforcement and the community.

This year’s Report provides recommendations from the Board for all stakeholders – law enforcement agencies, policymakers, Commission on Peace Officer Standards Training (POST), community members, and advocates – to push for policy reform, rooted in best practices, to help all law enforcement agencies eliminate racial and identity profiling and improve law enforcement and community relations. The Report also analyzes, for the first time, a full year of Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) stop data, from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, from Wave 1 and 2 agencies. Additionally, the Report provides recommendations that can be incorporated by law enforcement agencies to enhance their policies, practices, and trainings on topics that intersect with bias and racial and identity profiling.

This latest RIPA report aims to directly contribute to the conversation on police reform through data and research, policy recommendations, and accountability mechanisms that will help give communities, legislators, and law enforcement tools for innovative and critically-needed action.

Lastly, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) is highlighting recently expanded access to RIPA data on stops in schools and search discovery rates through online dashboards on OpenJustice. 

For additional information about the RIPA Board and a copy of the report, please click here. Also, a fact sheet on the 2021 RIPA report can be found here. A copy of the report appendices is available here.