Ventura County b Bob Brooks

Dates to visit the Grand Jury were proposed to officials of NAACP and L U C , b ut those dates passed with no response.

Of the five Lndivlduals 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 fides.

The Ventura Countv Sheriffs Academy uses materials published by POST to train all new deputies. and new polfce officers for all pollee departments. One section of thiu series, entitled Cultuml Diversity/Discriminaiioiminafion. is a workbook study of over 100 pages, with chapter headings such as "Recognizing Diversfty," "Prejudice and Discrimination,'*a nd "Effective Law Enforcement Contacts." A typical chapter will contain a subject overview, lgJuu4 ljKluyU JUKX I legal definitions, definitions 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 Camarilla. Fillmore, Moomark, Oiai. and Thousand Oaks contract with the Sheriffs Department for police services. Hence officers employed by these agencies follow Sheriffs Department policies and procedures. The Ventura County Sheriffs Academy trains its personnel using the POST materials described above.

Oxnard Police Department's POST trainjng on racial profiling is being developed, and will not be ready until January of 2002. The agency's policy on racial profflrng is, 'This Department rejects racial profiling 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 i at www.oxnardpd.or&.hh

Port Hueneme Police Department's racial profiling policy is in print in the form of a department directive. The directive states in part: 'This Department rejects racial profiling as a law enforcement tactic and we will not encourage or condone its use ...€?aciPdr ofiling of any type will not be tolerated In this Department." The agency uses the Sheriffs Acddemy to train new officers. Supervisors also do training during briefings.

Santa Paula Police Department's Chief Bob Gonzales states that racial profiling is not a problem in Santa Paula. In a memorandum to all personnel dated March 5,2001,C hief Gonzales commended his staff for deallng with the public in a professional manner, and directed them to continue this standard of conduct. Santa Paula's police oficers are trained at the Sheriffs Academy, and would use the POST materials described above.

Stmi Valley Police Department also uses the Shems Academy for trainhg, and they informed us that there is a 16-week program that every of€icer attends that touches on racial pr0fUx-g. The department has no specific directives on this issue in print.

V entura Police Department's racial profiling policy is covered in the following VPD Manual sections: Section 101.1.4: "...the Department rejects tactics based solely upon assumptions of race, ethnicity, national origin, .- or other protected attributes.. and Section 102.13.2: Troactive traffic 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 officers are trained at the Sheriffs Academy using POST materials, m CONCLUSIONS C-1. No conclusions can be reached regarding complaints of racial profiling in Ventura County due to lack of information and inability to interview those with potential information. IF-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 SherLgs Academy has implemented POST trajning as mandated in Penal Code Sectlon 13529.4(f)(I),t here is nothing in the training materials that addresses specific procedures to avoid racial profig. For example. the material does not answer the question of whether it is racial profiling to stop a black male in an predominately white neighborhood, if the only thing that makes the officer suspicious is that the man looks "out of place". Instead, the material focuses on cultural differences and how to effectively deal with them. RECOMWIENDATION The Shefls Academy and all Police Departments should continue to train officers and deputies on identffylng those actions that constitute bias based policing. A mere understanding of cultural diversities is not enough to prevent racial profiling. There must be specific 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 officer's mbd as to what tactics are and are not acceptable, If such guidelines do not appear in POST training materials by January 1,2002,t hen all Ventura County training facilities should provide further materials to make these guidelines clear. RESPONSES REQUIRED Ventura County Sheriffs Academy Ventura County Sheriff Oxnard Police Department Port Hueneme Police Department i 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 cornplant against any government agency. Citfzen's may submit their complaints in writing, with address, telephone number, and signature, and mailed to Ventura County Grand Jury, 800 S. Vfctoria, Ventura, CA* 93009