California
Police Department:
Los Angeles
F
38%
197 deadly force incidents
Based on population, a Black person was 5.7x as likely and a Latinx person was 1.8x as likely to have deadly force used on them than a White person in Los Angeles from 2016-18.
7,596 civilian complaints of police misconduct
Only 1 in every 22 complaints were ruled in favor of civilians from 2016-18.
325,530 arrests made
Police made 5.4x as many arrests for misdemeanors as for violent crimes in 2016-2018.
Police Use of Force By Year
Less-Lethal Force
Using batons, strangleholds, tasers & other weapons
1,942 Incidents | 62.0 every 10k arrests | ▶-40%
^ Used More Force per Arrest than 46% of Depts
Deadly Force
118 Shootings & 79 other deaths or serious injuries
197 Incidents | 6.3 every 10k arrests | ▶+8%
^ Used More Deadly Force per Arrest than 72% of Depts
Policies Adopted to Limit Use of Force *
* Agency Currently Updating Policy
Requires De-Escalation
Bans Chokeholds / Strangleholds
Duty to Intervene
Requires Warning Before Shooting
Bans Shooting at Moving Vehicles
Requires Comprehensive Reporting
Requires Exhaust Alternatives Before Shooting
Has Use of Force Continuum
Policies Making It Harder to Hold Police Accountable
Disqualifies Complaints
Restricts / Delays Interrogations
Gives Officers Unfair Access to Information
Limits Oversight / Discipline
Requires City Pay for Misconduct
Erases Misconduct Records
2016-2018 California
Police Department Grades
About This Scorecard
This is the first statewide Police Scorecard in the United States. It was built using data from California's OpenJustice database, public records requests, national databases and media reports.
Use this Scorecard to identify issues within police departments that require the most urgent interventions and hold officials accountable for implementing solutions. For example, cities with higher rates of misdemeanor arrests could benefit most from solutions that create alternatives to policing and arrest for these offenses. In cities where police make fewer arrests overall but use more force when making arrests, communities could benefit significantly from policies designed to limit police use force. And cities where complaints of police misconduct are rarely ruled in favor of civilians could benefit from creating an oversight structure to independently investigate these complaints.
Here's how to start pushing for change:
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Contact your Mayor and Police Chief, share this scorecard with them and urge them to enact policies to address the issues you've identified:
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Mayor Eric Garcetti
Phone: 213-978-1028
Email: mayor.helpdesk@lacity.org -
Police Chief Michel Moore
Phone: 213-486-0150
Email: contact.lapdonline@gmail.com
Advocacy Tip: California's new deadly force law goes into effect in January - requiring departments to adopt more restrictive deadly force policies. Tell your Mayor and Police Chief to adopt a policy that explicitly requires police to exhaust all available alternatives prior to using deadly force. Research shows this policy saves lives. -
Mayor Eric Garcetti
- Find your US Senator and US Representative using the Campaign Zero Advocacy Tool and urge them to support the PEACE Act, which would require police departments to adopt policies requiring de-escalation and alternatives to deadly force, a change that would reduce police shootings nationwide.
Campaign Zero Advocacy Tool
If you have feedback, questions about the project, or need support with an advocacy campaign, contact our Project Lead, Samuel Sinyangwe.
What's Next
Step 1 COMPLETED
Inform data-driven interventions in California's 100 largest cities. Update scores and track progress over time.
Step 2 COMPLETED
Expand to every major law enforcement agency in CA and include additional indicators such as police budgets and jail incarceration.
Step 3
Work towards a national police scorecard as more data are made available by federal, state, and local agencies. Create the foundation for a National Policing Intervention System to improve policing outcomes nationwide.