By Yue Stella Yu

WHAT THE BILL WOULD DO

Assembly Bill 1178, by Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, a Downey Democrat, would make it harder for the public to access police misconduct records. Already, state law allows agencies to redact those records if disclosing them would put the officer in danger. Under this proposed law, when deciding whether to redact, judges must also consider if the officer is working undercover and should remain anonymous because of their duties. 

WHO SUPPORTS IT

District attorneys and law enforcement groups, such as the California Police Chiefs Association and the powerful California Peace Officers Association, argue the measure is necessary to protect undercover agents from being “needlessly” named in public records, which they say could threaten the officers’ safety. 

WHO IS OPPOSED

Transparency advocates and good government groups such as the First Amendment Coalition and the American Civil Liberties Union in California, argue that carveouts in existing state law already shield the personal information of at-risk officers from disclosure. Opponents deem the measure unnecessary and argue that the legislation would allow agencies to withhold crucial information about an officer simply because of their role.

WHY IT MATTERS

The bill would roll back public access to police misconduct records just years after California lawmakers expanded it. In 2018 and 2021, California adopted laws that required the disclosure of police records about use of force, sexual assault and other misconducts. Those laws enabled UC Berkeley and Stanford University to create an online searchable database of misconduct documents from nearly 700 law enforcement agencies statewide. While the bill does not restrict the release of those records, it would give judges more reasons to redact information about undercover officers from those records. 

GOVERNOR’S CALL ✅