Q: Regarding POST data, the letter you sent — stated it was a misdemeanor, threatened legal action...what I understand today is that you’re not happy with all of this but you’re taking that off the table?



Becerra: We sent the letter but never threatened anyone with anything. I can read you the paragraph if you like. What we simply said...we just restated the law. These data are confidential. We happen to get it at the Department of Justice and we compile it. And then some of the agencies, as in this case a state agency like POST, will request the data. POST uses the data to help determine if someone is qualified to serve as a peace officer or to remain as a peace officer.



So they make a request to us, “we need this data”, we go into our database and collect the data and transfer it to them because they are authorized to get it. But under the penal code, only certain entities are authorized to get it. POST sent out the information mistakenly to UC-Berkeley investigative studies program. They made a mistake. What we’ve said to the Investigative Studies Program at UC-Berkeley is: POST made a mistake. They inadvertently sent you data that is confidential about many Californians, many of whom have never served as police officers, many of whom may have been convicted of a crime after they served as a police officer.



Because that information is confidential, by law, it is supposed to be possessed or used only by those authorized to use it. So we informed the Investigative Studies Program at UC-Berkeley that by law they are not supposed to have that. We understand they didn’t do anything wrong in requesting it. That was a legitimate PRA request. The information they got was not proper.



So by law someone who is in possession of information that is unauthorized is supposed to return it or destroy it. And that’s what our letter simply said, or requests. The department hereby formally requests. We didn’t threaten, we requested. And for the reasons that we discussed about privacy all together, again, you can’t play fast and loose with private confidential information. That a mistake was made… A mistake was made. But because a mistake was made, it doesn’t mean that as a chief law enforcement officer for the state that i don’t inform the entity that they are in possession of confidential information that they are unauthorized to possess or use. And use of that, continued possession or use of that, is chargeable as a misdemeanor. And simply stating the facts...all they have to do is read the penal code, and we cited the penal code for them.



Q: So are you ruling out criminal charges at this point?



Becerra: ...And that’s the part. I mean… here’s the difficulty. And it goes back to question of SB1421 and release of personnel records. If the investigative studies [program] at UC Berkeley release this information, by law, the state (District Attorney or I) will likely have the authority to try to prosecute as a violation of the penal code. Is that going to do any good for the people that lost their privacy? They’ll never get their privacy back.



Q: It sounds like they are intending to do more with that data…?



Becerra: I’ve alerted them to the law. This is a difficult one, because I respect the importance of the free press and the need to have transparency and to give the American public an opportunity to know. I also want to respect people’s privacy and I have an obligation to enforce the law. If innocent people get caught up in this and have their privacy exposed, that would not be right.



But from the get go, the information that the Berkeley program possesses is unauthorized even though they received it without violating any law themselves. The information they possess and may plan to use is unauthorized by law and I don’t know if anyone is going to suggest that a law enforcement officer, whether it’s the DA or me, should not be trying to enforce the law.



