This week, the Senate and Assembly Public Safety Committees, chaired by Senator Loni Hancock (D-Oakland) and Assembly Member Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) respectively, hosted a joint informational hearing on public safety and the public’s trust. The joint informational hearing was organized in response to recent altercations between law enforcement officials and local citizens, most notably the incident in Ferguson, Missouri that lead to the shooting death of Michael Brown. The Senate and Assembly invited top level officials from law enforcement and justice departments, research organizations and public educational institutions, civil rights organizations, and local government to provide testimony on how statewide and local data collection, policing policies, and best practices can be used to strengthen the relationship and build and promote trust and confidence between law enforcement entities and the general public.
Several recommendations were made, including specific recommendations to mandate local governments to measure police and community relations in an effort to change law enforcement behavior and enhance the public’s trust, and mandatory crisis intervention training and development of best practices protocols.