832.5.
(a) (1) (A) Each department or agency in this state that employs peace officers shall establish a procedure to investigate complaints by members of the public against the personnel of these departments or agencies, and shall make a written description of the procedure available to the public. public, including, but not limited to, complaints described in Section 148.6. A form used during the complaint process to receive information shall include a provision inquiring whether the complaint includes an allegation of racial or identity profiling and a space to describe the allegation. (B) Each department or agency shall develop a process whereby a member of the public may submit a concern about a specific policy, procedure, or practice of the department, including, but not limited to, that the policy or procedure may violate a legal right of an individual, or may result in harm to an individual. If the department or agency investigating the policy or procedure discovers conduct that could be a basis for the complaint process in subparagraph (A), the investigator shall report this conduct to a supervisor, and the issue shall be tracked and separately investigated. Concerns submitted pursuant to this subdivision are not “complaints” for purposes of this section.
(2) Each department or agency that employs custodial officers, as defined in Section 831.5, may establish a procedure to investigate complaints by members of the public against those custodial officers employed by these departments or agencies, provided, however, that any procedure so established shall comply with the provisions of this section and with the provisions of Section 832.7.
(b) Complaints and any reports or findings relating to these complaints, including all complaints and any reports currently in the possession of the department or agency, shall be retained for a period of no less than 5 years for records where there was not a sustained finding of misconduct and for not less than 15 years where there was a sustained finding of misconduct. A record shall not be destroyed while a request related to that record is being processed or any process or litigation to determine whether the record is subject to release is ongoing. All complaints retained pursuant to this subdivision may be maintained either in the peace or custodial officer’s general personnel file or in a separate file designated by the department or agency as provided by department or agency policy, in accordance with all applicable requirements of law. However, prior to any official determination regarding promotion, transfer, or disciplinary action by an officer’s employing department or agency, the complaints described by subdivision (c) shall be removed from the officer’s general personnel file and placed in a separate file designated by the department or agency, in accordance with all applicable requirements of law.
(c) Complaints by members of the public that are determined by the peace or custodial officer’s employing agency to be frivolous, as defined in Section 128.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or unfounded or exonerated, or any portion of a complaint that is determined to be frivolous, unfounded, or exonerated, shall not be maintained in that officer’s general personnel file. However, these complaints shall be retained in other, separate files that shall be deemed personnel records for purposes of the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code) and Section 1043 of the Evidence Code.
(1) Management of the peace or custodial officer’s employing agency shall have access to the files described in this subdivision.
(2) Management of the peace or custodial officer’s employing agency shall not use the complaints contained in these separate files for punitive or promotional purposes except as permitted by subdivision (f) of Section 3304 of the Government Code.
(3) Management of the peace or custodial officer’s employing agency may identify any officer who is subject to the complaints maintained in these files which require counseling or additional training. However, if a complaint is removed from the officer’s personnel file, any reference in the personnel file to the complaint or to a separate file shall be deleted.
(d) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Complaint” means a report, given either in writing or verbally, that brings to the attention of a department or agency an incident during which the complainant perceives that a department or agency employee engaged in criminal conduct, abusive or discriminatory behavior, inappropriate or discourteous conduct, or a violation of any law, rule, policy, or regulation of the department or agency.
(2) “Exonerated” means that the investigation clearly established that the actions of the peace or custodial officer that formed the basis for the complaint are not violations of law or department policy.
(1) (3) “General personnel file” means the file maintained by the agency containing the primary records specific to each peace or custodial officer’s employment, including evaluations, assignments, status changes, and imposed discipline.
(2) (4) “Unfounded” means that the investigation clearly established that the allegation is not true.
(3) “Exonerated” means that the investigation clearly established that the actions of the peace or custodial officer that formed the basis for the complaint are not violations of law or department policy.