Existing law, the California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act (act), provides specified punishments for certain crimes committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang, as specified. The act defines a “shared gang database” as a database accessed by a law enforcement agency that designates a person as a gang member or associate, or includes or points to information, including, but not limited to, fact-based or uncorroborated information, that reflects a designation of that person as a gang member or associate that is accessed by an agency or person outside of the agency that created the records that populate the database. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to regulate and oversee any shared gang databases in which California law enforcement agencies, participate, as specified.

This bill would remove the term “shared gang database” and make the provisions under the act applicable to all gang databases, regardless of whether a gang database is accessed by an agency or person outside of the agency that created the database. The bill would make specified regulations applicable to all gang databases beginning on January 1, 2027.