ATHERTON DEPARTMENT OF POLICE
Inter-Department Correspondence
To: Commander Larsen
From: Communications Supervisor Cisco
Date: January 27, 2025
Subject: RIPA Compliance Audit
Audit Purpose: The purpose of the audit was to measure compliance with Lexipol Policy 403 - Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) with special attention to section 403.2 that states, "It shall be the policy of the Atherton Police Department to collect and report data to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) in accordance with RIPA, which requires officers to complete an entry for each individual detained or searched during a call for service or self-initiated activity.
Audit Scope: The audit compared Turbo Data RIPA entries with Tubo Data Citations (written warning/traffic/criminal) between 01/01/2024 through 12/31/2024.
Audit Methodology: The methodology for this audit was as follows: to compare the number of RIPA entries from individual sergeants/officers with their number of citations issued during the period of 01/01/2024 through 12/31/2024. Citations were used as a barometer because the subject being issued a citation is unquestionably detained and a RIPA entry is required. At minimum, individual sergeants/officers shall have equal RIPA entries compared to citation entries to be in policy compliance. Ideally, RIPA entries should be greater than the number of citations issued because units often provide a verbal warning on traffic stops. The number of traffic stops/bike stops/pedestrian stops were not used this time because units do not always call-in stops. Sergeants were provided quarterly reports and reminders (verbal and email) to follow-up with any non-compliant officer on his team
Audit Results: Of the nineteen sergeants/officers reviewed in this audit, eleven were in policy compliance. Eight were out of compliance.
Audit Action Items: I recommend the following:
• Work with the Traffic Unit and Traffic Sergeant to ensure the Traffic Unit achieves compliance as all three members are non-compliant. • Remind Reserve Officers of the RIPA Policy. Neither have been non- compliant in the past and are off by only a few RIPA entries. • After speaking with Officer Yamsuan and Sgt. Fong, it seems that Officer Yamsuan is possibly not entering RIPA correctly. We will monitor his entries in the upcoming months and issue a DOC if necessary.
• Issue a DOC for Officer Torres who is out of compliance and has been told on numerous occasions that RIPA is a mandate and every quarter his number of RIPA entries falls well below the number of citations issued.
• Conduct a monthly check on or around the 5th of each month comparing citations issued to RIPA entries made.
• Conduct quarterly audits and continue to notify the sergeants. 3-19-25 Renewed a concur with actia
item recommendatians. Officer Torres
will recene a cuntter reprimad
as non- compliance
SAI
2024 Stats: Citations compared to RIPA entries
Officer Jul-Sept Oct-Dec Total
Cites/RIPA Cites/RIPA Cites/RIPA
2/8 10/50
263/300
139/152
131/189
2/2
1012/815
271/395
241/16
8/3