Cultural Diversity/Discrimination, is a workbook study of over 100 pages, with chapter headings such as “Recog-

Dates to visit the Grand Jury were proposed to offi cials of NAACP and LULAC, but those dates passed with no response.

Of the fi ve individuals who submitted declarations to the NAACP, one was the subject of the 2000-2001 Grand Jury Report, one is deceased and his death is the subject of a pending lawsuit, and no means of contacting the other three individuals, by telephone or mail, was provided.

A spokesperson for LULAC informed the Grand Jury that the agency had no complaining parties from the Hispanic community, and that all the citizens’ complaints he knew of were in the NAACP’s fi les.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Academy uses materials published by POST to train all new deputies, and new police offi cers for all police departments. One section of this series, entitled Cultural Diversity/Discrimination, is a workbook study of over 100 pages, with chapter headings such as “Recog- 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Final Report nizing Diversity,” “Prejudice and Discrimination,” and “Effective Law Enforce- ment Contacts.” A typical chapter will contain a subject overview, legal defi - nitions, defi nitions of prejudice, discrimination, perceptions and stereotypes, examples of acceptable police procedures, and workbook learning activities. This training manual was published in 1999.

The cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks contract with the Sheriff’s Department for police services. Hence offi cers employed by these agencies follow Sheriff’s Department policies and procedures. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Academy trains its personnel using the POST materials described above.

Oxnard Police Department’s POST training on racial profi ling is being developed, and will not be ready until January of 2002. The agency’s policy on racial profi ling is, “This Department rejects racial profi ling as a law enforcement tactic and we will not encourage or condone its use.” Further information on this statement is available on the agency’s website at www.oxnardpd.org/rp.htm.

Port Hueneme Police Department’s racial profi ling policy is in print in the form of a department directive. The directive states in part: “This Department rejects racial profi ling as a law enforcement tactic and we will not encourage or condone its use…Racial Profi ling of any type will not be tolerated in this Department.” The agency uses the Sheriff’s Academy to train new offi cers. Supervisors also do training during briefi ngs.

Santa Paula Police Department’s Chief Bob Gonzales states that racial profi ling is not a problem in Santa Paula. In a memorandum to all person- nel dated March 5, 2001, Chief Gonzales commended his staff for dealing with the public in a professional manner, and directed them to continue this standard of conduct. Santa Paula’s police offi cers are trained at the Sheriff’s Academy, and would use the POST materials described above.

Simi Valley Police Department also uses the Sheriff’s Academy for train- ing, and they informed us that there is a 16-week program that every offi - cer attends that touches on racial profi ling. The department has no specifi c directives on this issue in print.

Ventura Police Department’s racial profi ling policy is covered in the fol- lowing VPD Manual sections: Section 101.1.4: “…the Department rejects tactics based solely upon assump- tions of race, ethnicity, national origin, or other protected attributes…” and Section 102.13.2: “Proactive traffi c enforcement that is racially or ethnically based is neither legal, consistent with democratic ideals… nor…a legitimate and defensible public protection strategy. It is not, cannot, and will not be tolerated by the Department.” Ventura police offi cers are trained at the Sheriff’s Academy using POST materials. Final Report 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Conclusions C-1. No conclusions can be reached regarding complaints of racial profi ling in Ventura County due to lack of information and inability to interview those with potential information. (F-1, F-2, F-3) C-2. The Grand Jury has no jurisdiction over matters before the court; hence this body cannot investigate the incident involving the person who is now deceased. (F-2) C-3. While the Ventura County Sheriff’s Academy has implemented POST train- ing as mandated in Penal Code Section 13519.4(f)(I), there is nothing in the training materials that addresses specifi c procedures to avoid racial profi l- ing. For example, the material does not answer the question of whether it is racial profi ling to stop a black male in an predominately white neighbor- hood, if the only thing that makes the offi cer suspicious is that the man looks “out of place.” Instead, the material focuses on cultural differences and how to effectively deal with them. Recommendation The Sheriff’s Academy and all Police Departments should continue to train offi - cers and deputies on identifying those actions that constitute bias based policing. A mere understanding of cultural diversities is not enough to prevent racial profi l- ing. There must be specifi c guidelines in writing, and active, ongoing training for all law enforcement personnel as to what constitutes probable cause to detain a citizen, so that there is no question in the individual offi cer’s mind as to what tac- tics are and are not acceptable. If such guidelines do not appear in POST training materials by January 1, 2002, then all Ventura County training facilities should provide further materials to make these guidelines clear. Responses Required Ventura County Sheriff’s Academy Ventura County Sheriff Oxnard Police Department Port Hueneme Police Department Santa Paula Police Department Simi Valley Police Department Ventura Police Department Note To The Public: The Grand Jury will continue to be available to any citizen or organization that has a complaint against any government agency. Citizen’s may submit their complaints in writing, with address, telephone number, and signature, and mailed to Ventura County Grand Jury, 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, CA 93009-3751 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Final Report Response 1 - City of San Buenaventura Final Report 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Response 1 - City of San Buenaventura (continued) 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Final Report Response 2 - City of Port Hueneme Final Report 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Response 3 - City of Simi Valley 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Final Report Response 3 - City of Simi Valley (continued) Final Report 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Response 4 - Ventura County Sheriff’s Department 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Final Report Response 4 - Ventura County Sheriff’s Department (continued) Final Report 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Response 4 - Ventura County Sheriff’s Department (continued) 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Final Report Response 4 - Ventura County Sheriff’s Department (continued) Final Report 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Response 4 - Ventura County Sheriff’s Department (continued) 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury Final Report Response 4 - Ventura County Sheriff’s Department (continued)