How local law enforcement agencies are responding (or not) to the public’s right to know.

As state Sen. Nancy Skinner put it when she introduced SB 1421 in April 2018, California’s existing confidentiality rules about police conduct are among the most secretive in the country. Sponsored by the California News Publishers Association, the ACLU of California, Black Lives Matter and Youth Justice Coalition, among others, Skinner crafted the bill to make records related to officer use of force, on-the-job sexual assault or instances of dishonesty in the course of doing the job available to hiring agencies or members of the public.

“Building trust between police and communities has to start with transparency,” Skinner, a Democrat from Berkeley, says. “SB 1421 ensures that when officers use serious or deadly force, engage in sexual assault or are dishonest in carrying out their duties, the public is informed.”

Click here for the full report.