Police reform activists are advocating to end the ability of law enforcement's use of a gang database.
Known as CalGang, the database is used by law enforcement agencies in California to store the names and personal information of nearly 90,000 people suspected of being either gang members themselves or associating with them, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Activists claim that although the LAPD has ceased using it, CalGang is still in operation as a six-month extension from Jan. 1 with no apparent end in sight.
Following allegations that some Los Angeles police officers falsified data collected during traffic stops and wrongly labeled some motorists as gang members, Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in February that his office was going to audit the department's records and policies on the use of the state's gang database.
"Right now, LAPD's (CalGang) inputs are under the microscope, and we all have a stake in making sure that we all get this right," Becerra said. "We do not yet have a clear or full picture of what occurred, but we know enough to know that we must act. Any falsification of police records and abuse of the CalGang database is unacceptable. If Californians are falsely included in the database, that could potentially subject them to unwarranted scrutiny."
The CalGang system was overseen by individual police departments until the state Legislature passed a bill that gave the AG authority over it in 2017.
CNS contributed to this story.