The state of California's "CalGang Criminal Intelligence System" is in theory a law enforcement database of known gang members, but an audit of the program released Thursday finds it is operating without adequate oversight, clear guidelines, or constitutional privacy protections.
Among other problems identified by the state auditor's report, the database lists 42 'gang members' whose listed ages would make them babies younger than one year old. Even more remarkably, 28 of those babies reportedly "admitt[ed] to being members" of gangs, suggesting California's crime syndicates recruit only the verbally precocious — or that the system is poorly monitored and full of typos.
The database was also found to include people with missing or incorrect evidence of their alleged gang activity. For example, some were listed on grounds that they had committed gang-related crimes, when in reality they had never even been arrested. One man was added to the database after he said "he was not a member of a gang and that he preferred to be housed in the general jail population."
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Adults listed in CalGang are not notified of their inclusion and thus have no opportunity to challenge the decision. The parents of minors listed are supposed to be notified and given a reason for their child's listing, but the audit revealed notification letters are rarely sent, and those that are often fail to mention why the child has been deemed a gang member, making contestation difficult.
The audit results have been sent to California's gubernatorial and legislative offices with a list of recommendations attached, most notably the creation of an oversight agency.
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