Polling shows overwhelming support for bill among likely voters
SACRAMENTO— The California State Senate approved a police reform bill today that would collect basic information about encounters the police have with Californians. AB 953, introduced by Assemblymember Shirley N. Weber (D-San Diego), was passed 26-12 and will now return to the Assembly for a vote to approve changes made to the bill in the Senate.
“Recent incidents have forced us to confront some ugly truths about the persistence of racial bias in law enforcement. One of our best defenses is information. Currently, this information on these incidents isn’t provided publicly in a comprehensive way. The goal of AB 953 is to rectify that.
“We think this will go a long way toward understanding the problem in a data-based realistic way so that we understand the patterns of racial profiling. Where is it concentrated? What neighborhoods? Who is targeted? What communities have low numbers of these incidents? Can we find best practices for improving race relations in these communities? That’s how effective policy is made.”
To date, the state of California does not collect, analyze, or make available information about who the police, stop, search or even shoot. An independent analysis of officer-involved killings found that California leads the nation in the number of deaths so far this year.
Recent polling of 900 likely California voters conducted by Tulchin Research found that an overwhelming majority, 71 percent, of these voters support more transparency and accountability in use-of-force policing practices. The same poll found that 69% of likely California voters support AB 953.
“Our communities have lived experiences with biased policing – ranging from racial profiling, to excessive, and sometimes lethal, use of force. This inevitably breeds distrust in law enforcement, which in turn undermines the safety of all Californians,” said Patrisse Cullors, Founder and Board Member of Dignity and Power Now.
Research has shown that race plays an unconscious role in everyone’s decision-making, particularly in split-second decisions on perceived crime and danger.
“AB 953 is the minimum we can do to address the crisis we face when it comes to biased policing and the disparate treatment of people of color,” said Rosa Cabrera Aqeel, Legislative Director with PICO California.
If approved, AB 953 would:
- · Update the definition of identity profiling to include other demographic characteristics, such as gender and sexual orientation;
- · Require that California law enforcement agencies uniformly collect and report data on stops, frisks, and other interactions between their officers and the communities they serve.
The Legislature must pass the bill and send it to the Governor’s desk by midnight Friday.
