California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of police reform laws on Thursday aimed at increasing accountability and removing “harmful techniques.”
In total, Newsom signed eight separate bills regarding law enforcement reform. The legislation creates harsher consequences for officer misconduct and increases transparency in law enforcement records.
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“Today marks another step toward healing and justice for all,” Newsom said in a press release. “Too many lives have been lost due to racial profiling and excessive use of force. We cannot change what is past, but we can build accountability, root out racial injustice and fight systemic racism. We are all indebted to the families who have persevered through their grief to continue this fight and work toward a more just future.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the package of new laws “an inflection point in how we provide for public safety.”
“By building trust today, we are ensuring officer and community safety for tomorrow,” Bonta said. “Trust generates safety and safety generates trust. It will take sustained work by all of us to get the job done, but this is a monumental step forward on the path toward justice.”
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Here are some of the new laws and what they do:
- S.B. 2 creates a system to “investigate and revoke or suspend peace officer certification for serious misconduct.”
- S.B. 16 “increases transparency over peace officer misconduct records.”
- A.B. 26 creates protocols for officers to “immediately report if another officer is using excessive force.”
- A.B. 89 raises the minimum age to become a police officer to 21 and raises education level standards.
- A.B. 490 bans “technique and transport methods that involve risk of positional asphyxia.”
Police advocates opposed some of the measures, such as A.B. 89, which the Peace Officers’ Research Association of California that represents 77,000 public safety officers said could hurt “disadvantaged individuals who desire a career in law enforcement.”
