Recent police reform legislation: one step up

On September 30 and October 1, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed nine new police reform bills into law. The legislation addresses several important aspects of how public safety is delivered by peace officers across the state.

The bills reflect movement toward addressing public concerns about policing but skirt many of the "sacred cows" at the core of public concerns, such as the police officer protections provided in the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBRA) or the use of arbitrators in police discipline. In short, these bills are a start, but there's more to be done in areas where there is greater pushback from police unions. It remains to be seen whether the legislature is up to the task or whether police reform efforts will remain primarily a patchwork of local laws and rules.

Police records bills

SB 16 (Skinner) focuses on police records, expanding SB 1421. SB 1421 was passed in 2018 and gave the public the right to access records relating to (1) any incident in which a peace officer fired a gun at a person or used force that resulted in serious injury or death, (2) incidents in which an officer committed sexual assault against a member of the public, and (3) incidents in which an officer engaged in dishonesty in the investigation, reporting, or prosecution of a crime or police misconduct.