By Vivian Ho
San Francisco Chronicle
CALIFORNIA — California’s database of suspected gang members that is shared by police agencies around the state may violate privacy rights by including many people without proper justification, according to a report released by the state auditor that calls for stricter oversight.
The CalGang database, funded by the state Department of Justice, tracks roughly 150,000 alleged gang members and associates, 85 percent of whom are Latino or African American.
But the system “does not ensure that user agencies collect and maintain criminal intelligence in a manner that preserves individuals’ privacy rights,” stated the report by Auditor Elaine Howle.
Because of the lack of oversight, four sample agencies examined by the auditor’s office — which included the Sonoma County and Santa Clara County sheriff’s departments — entered groups into the database that did not meet the CalGang criteria for inclusion, the report said.
Thirteen of 100 individuals reviewed were listed in the database as suspected gang members but lacked the proper criteria, the report said. Forty-two individuals in the database were supposedly younger than 1 year old at the time of entry.
In addition, the auditor found, more than 600 individuals in CalGang had “purge dates” — when they were to be removed — that extended beyond a five-year limit.
The database was created 20 years ago as a way for agencies in different jurisdictions to share information in a bid to stop gang activity. Agencies can add individuals to the database once they have “sufficient source documentation” showing they meet at least two gang membership criteria such as admitting gang membership, being affiliated with known gang members, having gang tattoos, frequenting gang areas and exhibiting gang clothing or behavior.
The system is meant to act solely as an investigative tool, and a person’s inclusion in the database is not meant to be used in court or in employment.
But the audit found at least four court cases in which CalGang was cited as a source or a person’s gang involvement, and three law enforcement agencies responded to a statewide survey admitting they used the database for employment or military-related screenings.
“These instances emphasize that inclusion in CalGang has the potential to seriously affect an individual’s life,” the report states. “Therefore, each entry must be accurate and appropriate.”
The audit also uncovered problems with the treatment of juveniles, saying the Los Angeles and Santa Ana police departments — the other two agencies examined by the auditor — flouted the law by failing to notify many juveniles placed in CalGang and their parents so that they could contest their inclusion.
The auditor recommended that the Legislature designate the Department of Justice to take over CalGang, which is now operated under contract, and that the state develop and implement best practices. The report recommended that local agencies review both the gangs and suspected gang members they’ve entered into the database.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith responded to the report’s findings by saying her office “agreed to a certain extent with the recommendations.” She wrote in a letter that her office looks forward to working “to improve the CalGang Intelligence System and in turn safeguard the rights of those in the system.”
Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas disagreed strongly with the report’s findings. His agency acts as a “node,” which means it is responsible for the CalGang operations of 30 counties in Northern California.
In a letter included in the report, Freitas said he believed that his office “has met or exceeded the statutory guidelines for administering a model Criminal Intelligence System that is used nation-wide.” He was critical of the auditors, noting they had never audited a database like this before.
But his office said Thursday that while it disagrees with some parts of the report, it looked forward to discussing the audit and agreed that the Department of Justice should take over the database.