False evidence ploys, hefty cash payments and jail cells outfitted with recording devices. These are the staples of a so-called Perkins operation: A controversial law enforcement tactic in which a police officer or civilian poses as an incarcerated person to elicit incriminating statements from a suspect.
Perkins operations are widespread in California and have helped secure hundreds of murder convictions. District attorneys laud them as a powerful investigative tool to solve crimes. But critics say law enforcement has gone too far, arguing that the operations are coercive, risk false confessions and disproportionately target Black and Latino people.
- Michelle Luna Reynoso, criminal defense attorney: “It’s psychological war. How is this not considered cruel and unusual punishment?”
Those concerns are highlighted in cases that have piled up before the California Supreme Court this year to challenge convictions involving Perkins operations. Some defendants allege undercover operatives coaxed them to waive their Miranda rights before talking to the police. In others, defendants argue agents coerced them into making incriminating statements after they invoked their Miranda rights.
That was the case for Jason Zapata, who was arrested in Riverside County in 2015 when he was 24. He was thrown in a holding cell with two older men who told him they were gang members in custody for murder. As they boasted about their violent past and pressed him about his charges, Zapata came to believe he was in imminent danger so he eventually told them what they wanted to hear.
- Jason Zapata: “Your life is in their hands. Anything could happen to you in that type of environment. Not everybody makes it out. You gotta do what you need to do to survive in this place.”
CalMatters filed dozens of public records act requests to learn more about these operations and worked with attorneys to obtain documents agencies refused to release. Read more about what we found in our investigation.
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Other Stories You Should Know
CA sues to halt Paramount merger
California is suing to stop the proposed merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount in what would be a $110 billion deal between the two conglomerates spanning news and entertainment.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in coalition with 11 other attorneys general.
The merger would “snuff out competition,” said Bonta during a press conference Monday — resulting in fewer movies, lower-quality content, rising movie ticket prices and limited choices with TV programs, including news, sports and kids entertainment.
- Bonta: “The resulting behemoth would control nearly one-third of theatrical motion pictures and nearly one-third of basic cable programming, including 50 of the most popular cable channels. … History has shown that consolidation in markets at the center of American economic life does not serve our economy, our consumers or competition.”
Paramount’s CEO, David Ellison, is an ally of President Donald Trump. Under Trump, the Justice Department in June approved the merger, determining that it would not likely “result in harm to competition or American consumers.”
Big year at CalPERS
California’s largest public pension fund said Monday that it gained nearly 15% of its investment portfolio, ending the 2025-26 financial year with a portfolio worth $637.1 billion, writes CalMatters’ Adam Ashton.
It’s the second straight year of double-digit returns for the fund, and the third consecutive year it beat its target of 6.8%.
Though CalPERS remains underfunded, the latest numbers signal its recovery from its losses during the Great Recession, and its assets are now valued at 85% of what it owes to members. California police and fire unions are also calling on the Legislature to pass bills that would boost retirement benefits for public safety workers, and CalPERS’ report could reassure lawmakers to vote yes.
- Marcie Frost, CalPERS CEO, in a statement: “Our team has maintained a disciplined approach to building the health of the pension system … this effort is paying off for our 2.4 million members.”
California Voices
A bill that would make it illegal for sellers and manufacturers to call electric motorcycles e-bikes is a carefully considered response to safety concerns that does not curtail e-bike adoption, writes Paul Thornton, cofounder of the L.A.-based commentary and news analysis publication, Golden State.
As prediction markets become more mainstream, policymakers need to act swiftly to regulate the platforms so they are transparent, safe and trustworthy, writes William Lu, San Diego-based public policy graduate student.
Other things worth your time:
CA earmarks $40M to speed up vote counting in November — but elections officials want to temper expectations // The Mercury News
Right-leaning billionaires help bankroll CA voter ID ballot measure // The Sacramento Bee
LA therapists are seeing more young patients with gambling problems. They blame Kalshi // LAist
Bay Area renters are cutting fossil fuels from their homes and commutes // KQED
Environmental extremism or gold standard? Feds target CA coastal protections // inewsource
CA lawmakers cry foul over new cap placed on film tax credits // Los Angeles Times
CA lawmakers target price gouging at ICE detention facilities // Capital & Main
ICE took her from her children. Here’s how lawyers raced to free her // San Francisco Chronicle
