Pasadena Police Department Audit

Veritas

Assurance Group Inc.

PASADENA POLlDEPARTMENT

l-'01q.ive Operations

De

Ronald C. Sanchez, CGAP(661) [email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction

II. Acknowledgements ..

Ill. Engagement StaffQualifications ...IV. Engagement Work Plan ..

Audit Scope and Methodology .

Audit Sampling

Audit Impairments

V. Training .

Training Programs for Follow-up Investigators

Objective No. I: Training Management Syste 1Objective No.2: Training for Detectives :-~~"~t.... ..Objective No.3: Training for Profess'

VI. Detective Policies and Proced~;:l'l=:tlo.:

VII.

Objectil o. I: Response to Crime Scenes ..hiecti No.2: Evidence Collection & Analysis .

Objective No. "3: InterYIew & Interrogation .Objective No.4: Investigative Documcntation .Objective No.5: Organization of Case Book .Objective No.6: Supervisory Oversight .Use of Informants .

I5

17

19

22

25

25

26

2830

35

35

36

38

39

41

5867

71

75

VIlI. Non-Homicide Investigations .

Audit Sample & lmpainnents ..Audit Methodology .

Objective No.1: Follow-up Investigation ..Objective No.2: Charge & Case Disposition ..Objective No.3: Disposition of Evidence ..Objective No.4: Case Management System ..Objective No.5: Supervisory Oversight

IX. Unconstitutional Policing Personnel ComplaintsBackground " " " "

Audit Sample & Methodology

Policies Governing Personnel Complaints

Objective No. I: Complaint Intake r ~:,;,;:~Objective NO.2: Classification of Com lld'Tllt

Objective No.4: Quality ofAd'Objective NO.5: Retentio

X. Closing Comments

ACHMENT

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Verifas~

Assurance Group Inc.

.ght lies the old

. alance between the actions a police officer is

rlI"[~~t.:;J~~rntices." So, in keeping with the Department's motto soon lat brass plate, the focus of this engagement goes beyond simply

nt' compliance with minimum legal standards. Instead, it provides a

road ap for I ' e' ent to "get the job done" in a manner that is effective, while remainingrespc 'lful of7ilizens and consistent with this great nation's Constirutional principles.

In writing this report, we

As you approach the Pasadena Police Department, you can't help b

buildings that comprise Pasadena's Civic Center. To the left i

Pasadena Library and directly ahead is the Police Buildin

approach the front door to the Police Station. there is a larg

of the floor. The Pasadena Police Department bad~~~~~!ll~he center of that plate and it issurrounded by three of the Department's mOll 'ch is:

Ronald C. Sanchez,President and COOVeritas Assurance Group, Inc.

PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENTPERFORMANCE AUDIT OFDETECTIVE OPERAnONS

FINAL RF:rORT

December 8, 2014

f he Barnes case has been released

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

and, while identifying some areas fo

investigation.

For several years now, the Pasadena Police Department has been the subjescrutiny. This has been punctuated by several key incidents most l)!involved shooting ofLe Roy Barnes. the 2010 shooting of She In W, II

shooting of Kendrec McDade. These incidents were all in' tiga

the Department's HomicidelMajor Assault Unit. IDepartment entered into a contract with the Los:

(OIR).2 Under that contract. the OIR reviewand McDade officer-involved shootings.

~~

tar News, the FBI has "opened a probe" into

ey's office is "reviewing the material" it received

lit h' ac 1 ~ of some detectivesJ In addition. an unusually acerbicn the homicide detectives and some members of the (defense)l!Ili.:;e",.~1 newspaper articles and televised interviews airing the attorneys'

'the m nner in which the detectives have conducted investigations. Those

included peljury, bribery and hiding exculpatory evidence. One lawyer sent the. ~''''''JI:.::.r.claration from an alternate juror stating that she believed one of the detectives

"invented evidence" against a murder defendant. There was also an allegation that a detective

kicked down the door ofa lawyer's home to serve a search warrant in retaliation for the lawyer

1 The unit's name has changed somewhat over the years. but its area of responsibility has remained fairly CO!1o;;stcnl.2 The County has deactivated the Office ofTndependent Review in lieu of the Office ofTnspcctor General.3 Various Pasadena Star Ne"\'$ articles including one on February 13, 20l3.

Pasadena Pol ice DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal ReponPage 2

insisting that he be present when the detective interviewed his client. It is not surprising thatseveral of these incidents have become the subject oflawsuits, some of which are currentlypending in court.

he Department announced that

d that six of the eight allegations that

In 2012, Chief Sanchez asked the Los Angeles C

several of these misconduct complaints_ On

the Sheriffs Department had completed_-__ ~"officers beat suspects, threatened wilsustained due to lack of evidenc,J'lI?...y

The community itselfhas expressed its concern. Mr. Joe Brown, fonner President of the

NAACP's Pasadena Branch, has been quoted in several newspaper articles expr~sing hisconcern that, "The residents' patience with the police department is running thin.'

expressed concern about several specific homicide detectives describing II

keep hearing when our young men bring up the cops they are havin~ssues \But Mr. Brown was also quick to commend Chief of Police Ph-) p aChief Sanchez, there has been a change. vha

disciplinary action."

In February 2013, Judge Fidler, a highly respected member of the Los Angeles judiciary,dismissed a 2007 homi~ case I~r ruli~ that the detectives had committed misconduct byfailing to produc cui atory evidence_ In the hearing leading up to that ruling, a

detective .tes - ad never heard of the Brady rule and was unaware that he was

required to I -de,,'c thaI might be exculpatory_ In his ruling, Judge Fiedler

mce 's testimony by asking rhetorically, "Does he think I'm a turnip fanner

that ruling, Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and Chief Sanchez announced they

were initiating a comprehensive independent audit ofcases handled by the Detective Bureau.

Specifically, they asked Veritas Assurance Group to examine the Department's homicide

investigations dating back to 2005 as wcll as a cross-section ofother investigations and criminalcase filings to ensure consistency in reporting and evaluate procedural adherence_ Shortly after

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OpcrationsFinal RCP0rtPage 3

the engagement commenced the review was expanded to include an audit of personnel

complaints alleging Unconstitutional Policing by detective personnel.

eficlcncy was identified and

t levels, Audit assessmcnts tend to

Veritas' team of subject-matter experts (SivlEs) spent the next six months conducting a rigorousreview ofhomicide cases, non-homicide cases, personnel complaints, detective practices and

training programs. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) provides the followiinternal auditing;

"Internal (luditing is (In independent, objective a,uurance and consultidesigned 10 add vallie and improve an organization's operation t help" 0 tfi:ationaccomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, discipline ach 1 eva"~ate andimprove the effectiveness ofrisk management. co1ltrol GIl vernan ro. Us,

concentrate on risk exposures and make recomthose exposures while maintaining op. .!lion I So audit reports such as this tcnd to

focus on deficicncies while reco ing t deal of the work was pcrformed correctly.

Auditors cannot simply bask li"\l,e t s tli ent right. but need to identify the things that

uialfacto~, be it human error, control weaknesses, or systemicI supervis0r or manager review it and, if so, did they identj fycontrol weakness or systemic failure, why didn't the controls

ace idcntify the exposure and bring it to the attention ofa supcrvisororgal .at on's ability to identify and correct errors is a critical componcnt of its

el~ent strategy and every significant error must be evaluated under thatstan

established procedure has been followed and. ifno

.corrective action taken at the supervisory and!

With respect to this engagement, we found a group of extremely hard-working detcctives who

frequently brought violent criminals to justice. However. we found a serious lack of formaltraining for those detectives, weak policies regulating the way in which criminal investigations

are to be conducted, very little visible supervisory oversight of day-to-day operations and serious

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal ReportPage 4

I two potential misconceptions:

ot met prior to this engagement.

.." ,

I. Ron Sanchcz, President an,t.I~"'.'"

2. lfnchez and Senior Perfonnanee Auditor Dan Koenig,

..:ment executives. This may lead some to believe that our

epartment is something less than honest, thorough and

t skeptical group, we can only say you have never actually met us

iar with our work.s

flaws in the Department's records and case management systems. ln some cases, we found that

supervisors either knew or should have known that subordinates were violating Department

policy, but took no corrective action: Some officers were allowed to operate extremely close to

the line of legality with little or no visible ovcrsight from supervisors who either knew or clearly

should have becn aware of their subordinates' actions. These supervisors had a r

the Department, their subordinates and the people of Pasadena to correct these "

they did not. Equally important, their managers did not hold them account3ble.

Prior to continuing, we want to take this

It is important to kecp in mind that most of the cascs reviewed in t

2005 and 2009; many improvements have bcen made over the

that were being implemented wllile this audit was being co 1

improvements throughout the report. Additionally, this au

homicide and felony-assault cases. This engagem~~~m~~~investigations done by other detective "tables'

... 1 THIS SECTION LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK

~ Officers approving felony bookings and failure to repon uses of force are two prime examples.S References are available.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal Rep"l1Page 5

CHAPTER II: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We were extremely pleased with the professionalism, transparency and receptivity displayed by

nearly every member of the Pasadena Police Department we encountcrcd during this project.We very much appreciate their candor and commitmcnt to providing the people of Pasadena wilh

the best possible police service. In particular. we would like to recognize four i

provided invaluable support to this engagemcnt.

Police Chief Philip Sanchez has been consistently receptive and Sl

entire effort. Throughout this engagement each and every

understood that Chief Sanchez expected complcte tra

expectation was met and the members of the Dep)!provide us with the information we needed. Ve mus lat on the two occasions

we encountered potential impediments tl

cases Chief Sanchez dealt with the is! isively and most importantly, with

honesty. His commitment to a t review is greatly appreciated.

Chief: Thank you sir!

t We had access to the training and internal

nsured that we were pro,,;ded with any missing infonnation.

n Perez facilitated our review of detective operations. He was the

to Improve the Department's detective operations. Most of the improvements the

Department initiated since we began this audit were Commander Perez' doing. (Theseimprovements are enumerated in Chapter VI: Detective Policies & Procedures.)Thank you Commander Perez!

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RCP0l1Page 6

We would

aray, Ms. Susana Castro and Ms. Lola

recognize Police Cadet Brandon Anderson

is attention to detail was simply amazing and

THIS SECTION LEFf INTENTIONALLY 8LANK

greatly appreciated!

Lieutenant Terysa Rojas was our daY-lo-day contact. She assisted us with obtainingcases, describing Departmental workflow and interpreting the myriad subtleties that arc

part and parcel of every large organization. She proved herself to be, without question,

one of the most competent mid-managers we have ever encountered. Without her, this

study would not have been completed and the Department is truly fortuna"c to have her.

Thank you Lieutenant!

We also want to recognize the Chiefs Offi";;;::>..!o:.u"~like to personally thank Ms. Beverl

Fyles. Lastly, we want to take

We would also iike to acknowledge the key detectives we interviewed wit

anonymity. While they won't be named in this report, they deserv

comfortable having a stranger come in and dissect your investi

mistake you made. Homicides are very complex investiga i

parts." As one of our Subject MaUer Experts commented, paperwork and not make some mistakes." The d~candid. We greatly appreciated their cooperatim. i lank


CHAPTER 1II: ENGAGEMENT STAFF QUALIFICATIONS

es, homicide. burglary. auto theft and

Institute of Criminal Investigations (ICI)Auditor for the Commission on Peace Officer

n! ost KnOWledgeable (PMK) of this engagement. Dan

galt ns a.!!l, as.; command officer. supervised and managecj detectives assigned toate maj r crimes including homicides. robberies. bombings and extortions. He has

inve

Inve

The Project Manager (PM), Ronald C. Sanchez, has 38 years of related professional experience.Thiny-one of those years were as a law enforcement professional. Of those 31 years. 24 were in

investigative, supervisory. mid-level management and comm~nd positions. The PM hasextensive experience as a law enforcement perfonnanee auditor and Chief Audi

(CAE). He is a Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP) and has anin Internal Audit Quality AssessmentlValidation from the Institute oflmehas completed numerous professional post graduate courses inelud' ~ TheHalVard University's Kennedy School of Govemment and Stat' IC IS

by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cthe Institute of Internal Auditors (ITA). The PM currently tnational level and his company, Veritas. provides

testimony for numerous clients. The PM has

management assignments include ro

The Senior Constll

rous management audits and has published several major reports that haveproven themselves to be of interest to the broader law enforcement community. He has served as

the executive director for a major city police department's Board of Police Commissioners. Hehas extensive experience providing management support to several public safety agencies

including the development of risk management strategies as well as assessment and adjudication


of personnel complaints and use-of-force incidents. Veritas' Senior Consultant is also a

Management Consultant and Special Auditor for the California Commission on Peace Officer

Standards and Training (POST).

He was the

Investigation course through the Public

Co Case Seminar through the Naval Criminal

orcement Training Center. Mr. Thrasher is a long-time

'fomia Robbery Investigator's Association and the Califomia

Investigation Service an

TIlis engagement's Senior Subject Matter Expert, Mike Thrasher, is a retired Detective Supervisorwith more than 32 years of Law Enforcement experience with a major city police d~Lnnspent 21 of those years supervising detectives responsible for the investigation ofrobbe

extortion, fraud., gang-related crimes, officer-involved shootings (non-hit), sex.1@Io~homicides. He has extensive knowledge in the areas ofrobbery and h

investigated more than ISO homicides and in over 5,000 robbery

Officer-in-Charge (0lC) ofa Robbery and Gang Crimes UniHomicide, Gang Crimes and Sex Crimes Unit for five years.

homicide and robbery investigations and has testifie ~i1ime;~~p'retiring from his full-time position, he became

Agency's Cold Case Homicide Unit. He h ~

the Los Angeles County District Atto

completing the five-day Homicid

Agency Training Council and

SUbj~ Expert arks retired in 2008 as a Detective Supervisor after 35 years with amaj city poh ent. During that time he was the primary investigator on 128 murder

I d assisted with or supervised the investigation of several hundred more. During

fN~l2'

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RCP0rtPage 9

review of unsolved murder cases, assessing the evidence and investigation in order to make

recommendations regarding the practicality of pursuing additional investigation. Over the past

four years, he has also provided prosecutors in two Southern California jurisdictions with writtenmurder scene reconstructions and testified in Superior Court regarding those reconstructions.

r y 30 ycars oflaw enforccment experience which

tigations and supervising detectives. She has extensive

~ii&i~l::!t~:llve>1Igations of assault-related crimes, particularly those of a~:d in several assignments as a homicide investigator and at one

lleartread a Gang Homicide Unit. When her law enforcement agcncy

Subject Mattcr Expert Jim Freund has 33 years of law enforcement experience,in a variety of investigative assignments including homicide, robbery, sexual assau

auto theft, extortion, embezzlement, insurance fraud and street gangs. Duflll"!}:n~,....-he was assigned specifically to homicide and death investigations.

assigned as a homicide investigator/supervisor and for the last

investigators who were responsible for the investigation of I

Freund was involved in over 200 homicide investigations an

investigation of over 100 more homicides. Duri,

100 times in Superior Court and has also tes~Throughout his homicide career, Freund::J~~~

Subject Matter Expert Ja

deci alized Sexual Assault Unit. she was selected as the unit's Assistant

Offi -in-~e. She has also been assigned to Intemal Affairs where she investigated a widerange 0 duct complaints against the department's employees. Prior to her retirement two

years ago, she supervised detectives assigned to investigate Major Assault Crimes as well asdetectives assigned to investigate Crimes Against Persons.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RcponPage 10

CHAPTER IV: ENGAGEMENT WORK PLAN

methodologies.

ors suspect serious errors or

On May 20, 2013, Vcritas provided the Department with a detailed audit work plan wbich was

subsequently approved. That plan detailed Veritas' commitment to conduct a full review of the

Department's policies, practices and procedures governing detective operations, as well as, the

level of investigative training provide to its detectives and Professional Standar

Affairs) investigators. Vcritas also committed to conducting in-depth audits ofhoinvestigations, non-homicide investigations and personnel investigations i

unconstitutional policing.

"T1le directed or plllposeJul sampl-"';.nJ''';J;'l~,manipulation and walll either tomany ofthe suspected ilems lqsampling. II is pure detec(' "his or her sample will b But au Ifrom a directed sam e. ,

cLto fluctuate in order to compensate for unrel iable data or to

probe areas ofCOl~lC~C~:m~~~.duringtbe audit. Tbe end result is that ample audit evidcnceen to SUppOlt meaningful risk management and process efficiency

Generally, Veritas begins its audit reports with a chapter desc .

methodology and sampling technique. However, in this a

homicides, non-homicides and personnel investigations-rc

In some instances auditors evaluated entire popu

some random and others using dirccted and p

reco 4a

Facl uditcha~ns with a description of the scope, methodology and sampling utilized forthat a a \'\s applicable, each chapter also ulentllles any auolt Impalnnems mal were

encountered. As an overview the following infonnation is provided as a general description of

the audit's scope, methodology, sampling and impainnents.

6 Sawyer's Internal Auditing 51h Edition, The Practice of Modem Internal Auditing, Lawrence B. Sawyer, JD, CIA..PA. et-al (Page 438)

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal ReportPage II

sampling approach tailored to the scope and purpose of

g audited and the sampling impairments encountered. In

Ie data from the Department's computer systems in order to identify

a significant challenge. Auditors worked with the Department's subject

Audit Sampling

Each ofthe three~~~

The auditors developed a unique audit matrix for each of the three

auditors to capture specific data points for each investigation i

with sound audit standards and, as communicated in the A vork papers went

through at least two levels of review. All homicides and th

subjected to a third or quality assurance level of rAccreditation in Internal Audit Quality Asses' enAuditors. conducted additional quality ass onC

spreadsheet which was used to comp' . gs and support the recommendations

proposed to address anomaliesinvestigations.

Audit Scope and Methodology

Consistent with sound audit mcthodologies, auditors conducted a full and thorough review of

each investigation selected for this engagement. Spccifically. auditors used the standard of due

professional care to evaluate each investigation for sound investigative practices, completeness,

timeliness, appropriateness of disposition.. report accuracy and evidence of superv.sory and

management reviews. Auditors also evaluated each case for compliance with

policies and procedures as well as any evidence of inordinate risk-managL'ht nt expo."""",,,.

Audit Impairments

Each of the audit chapters describes the impairments encountered during that portion of the

audit. But in order to provide an overview of the Department's challenges in this area, we will

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective Operationsfinal RcponPage 12

summarize the dit1iculties encountcred in our cffort to identify the population ofnon-homicide

investigations.

sition data, there were reliability

e occurred. (The subsequent audit findingsof ese releases.) Secondly, the data did not identify;;demeanor filing (hi-pass) without flTSt presenting the

here was absolutely no indication of any impropriety ons, dele .ve releases and misdemeanor referrals have created problems

ost egregious cases, abuse of release and referral authority has ledin other dep

The first set ofdata we received was supposed to identifY the number of cases assigned to each

detective; separate them by the "solvability" factor they were assigned (A, B & C); and, identifYthe disposition code for each case.' The data we received showed that 15,743 ca:s were'

assigned to detectives, but 7,135 of those cases (45%) were recorded under a hea"blank." While it is not unusual for police departments to assign miscella.."."",,;:

number solely for tracking purposes, these "blank" cases included

robberies, 3 purse snatches and 48 burglaries. Cases of that nan~;:-",~ ""'-Q~

In addition to the unreliability ofcase classiissues in two other key areas. First, the

data, PPD experts

.. They found different

disposition codes for the same case depending on ~~~ljlli.a~asconducted.

cases where a detective.

to po rruption when unscrupulous detectives literally sold releases and misdemeanor

r"f", _Is to crim0hts.f So. these investigative decisions need 10 be reported accurately,judici Iy rev' wed and approved. FaIlure to capture accurate aala ror lOese aClIvuit:s prt:st:IllSa serious exposure in the Department's ability to manage risk.

7 Solvability factors and disposition codes are described in Chapter VI: Detective Policies and Procedures1I Releases and referrals are discussed in detail in Chapter VI: Detective Policies and ProceduresQ This was~ a Pa.-.adena Police Dep'1T1ment case.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal ReportPage 13

. t detective personnel use MCI to

I?artment should conduct a full review of its automated,I u captured correctly and that those systcms are producing

nanngers and supervisors with their responsibilitics.

urces and responsibility for fulfilling that critical function.

Recommendation No.1:

Re

Recommendation No.

track and manage cases.

In May, auditors met with the Department's Technical Services Section Admini trator to clarify

the relationship between the Department's key data systems. The Computer Aided Dispatch

System (CAD) manages calls for service and other field activity. Case file numbers are issued inCAD upon request by the officer handling a call. When the officcr completes the reports,

preliminary data is entered into the Records Management System (RMS). Folioinformation on cases assigned to detectives is supposed to be entered into the ina1

Investigations (MCI) module which, in tum, updates RMS. When MCI iswhich was not being done to one degree or another during most of t e perio c

audit, then neither MCl nor RMS is able to produce reliable info

of individual cases, case dispositions by crime catcgory or

reliable information is exacerbated by the fact that no on

responsibility for imputing data into these systems iI.. ~".oo:::::rtll,.


THIS SICcrlON LEFT INTENTIONALL\' BLANK

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detecti\'e OperationsFinal RcpOl1Page 15

CHAPTER V: DETECTIVE TRAINING

which states:

y is the driving force behind the

cquipped with the knowledge. skills and

Training Programs for Investigators

Detectives in California are truly fortunate 10 have an entire array of training available to them

through the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training's Robert Presley Institute of

Criminallnvestigation (ICI POST). This unique program was started in the miState Senator Robert Presley expressed his concern that training for criminal inve.

seemed to be missing from POST's training programs. After holding seve

a core course curriculum was developed and piloted in 1989. The ~u(cess 0quickly led to the development of foundational specialty cours r. lted I

ICI. In 1994. ICI was formalized under California Penal C

"T7.e Robert Presley Institute ofCriminallnvesJjJ:ftU ' w/ Jv..llake vai/able to crimillalinvestigators ofCalifornia's 1m, enforcement g,en itS ..,"ifk'lIICed training programto meet the needs qfworking investigators

lbe rapidly changing tools available to today's follow-up

investigator. dunte highly trained and competent investigators who are able

to meet tod' hallcnges. To receive a Certificate from ICI, students mustcomp el~e ore Course, one foundation specialty course and thrce elective courses relating tothe, dent's sp ~ aIf{. Because ICI courses are unique and have been designed especially for

'-lip i estigator. POST will not accept other courses as equivalent to the Core COllfse

or Foundation Specialty Courses.

Since its inception, the motto of the ICI J;P-~Iffi~'~Contemporary Curriculum." This 01

program's focus on providing a

tools to deliver training usi

That focus ensures that

The ICI Core Course is specifically designed to meet the needs of the Law Enforcement

Investigator in performing the multi-disciplined, multi-leveled tasks required for a thorough andcomprehensive criminal investigation. Through the use of practical and interactive experiences.


Manage and reconstruct a crime scene;

Organize and employ effective case management skills;

class, which is a ''universal

. vestigator's ability to gather testimonial

ects. It is specifically designed for the full-

allaw enforcement use. In addition to the Core and

tion (Basic)

estigation (Advanced)":!:o'"

officers are exposed to investigative techniques, including the use of cutting edge technology.

Students are involved in the investigative process through case studies: field exercises, such as

evidence collection and preservation; crime scene simulation; surveillance activities; and,

victim/suspect interviews and interrogations. The course culminates in preparation of search

warrants and presentation of the case to a Deputy District Attorney. At the concl

course the student will be able to:

Validate their work through docume

Identify and access useful sources of info':':;;~l~~'Jl~:'::~

Utilize effective interview and interrogation techniqu

witnesses and suspects;

Another core ICI course is the Intervie:~!\M~elective."lo It is specifically desicrn,,,,,,..,tA..

evidence legally from victims,

time investigator and is no

Interview/Interrogatio

Domestic Violence Investigations

10 A universal elective can enhance any student's training program regardless of specialty.


Gang Investigation

Homicide Investigation (80 hour)

Homicide Investigations (36 hour)

Identity Theft Investigations

Internal Affairs Investigations (Basic)

Internal Affairs Investigations (Updates)

Narcotics Investigation

Ofticer-Involved Shooting Investigations

Robbery Investigations

Sexual Assault Investigation

Technology in Investigations

Vehicle Theft Investigation

ed specifically for those who are responsible for tbe

w-up investigators.

her assistant. Auditors reviewed tbe Department's Training Plan and examined

printouts of the training provided from 2005 to 2012 to all officers assigned to Detectives andProfessional Standards.


menda 'on No.4: The Department should include supervisors in the process of officers

training sts. This will allow supervisors to fulfill their responsibility of ensuring their

subordinates are properly trained.

We also noticed a high concentration of training in firearms and other sel

not minimizing those critical skills whatsoever, one has to wonder

maintained between those and core investigative skills. (There qthat apparent imbalance in the objectives that follow.) Winot appear that supervisors have much input and, therefore,

their subordinates receive. Additionally, oversi t."~~~~~

Findings

The Department clearly has made a major investment in providing its officers with high-qualitytraining. The training records for the vast majority of the supervisors and managers selected forthis portion of the audit indicate that they have attended either the Supervisory Leadership

Institute or Command College. These are both high-intensity "masters level" co

to develop leadership and critical thinking skills in organizational leaders.

histories which indicated theyattended the same 40+ hour class twice within a s. In researching the apparent

duplication we found in each case th as cancelled and the detective was

rescheduled for the next availabl no one notified the Training Coordinator so

the detectives were shown a e class twice. While beyond the scope of this

etective's training history indicating the completion

e rescheduled. Finally, we noticed numerous TMS entries of~~ffiij;H~~ssesdescribed only as a "training seminar." Without a.-~

t was taught there is no way to document an officer's actual

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal Rep0l1Page 19

Recommendation No.5: The Department should require that supervisors review their

subordinate's training records with them in conjunction with annual personnel evaluations.That review should verify the record's accuracy and establish the employee's training plan for

the following year.

. Recommendation No.6: The Training Management System should inc

any seminar lasting 8 hours or more.

Objective No.2: Training for Detectives. Identify thethe Department's detectives have received.

Assessment

Auditors obtained list of all Police Officers, Coassigned to Detectives from 2005 to 2 .

began (March 2013) The training histo .

Auditors reviewed all oft

\ ere 7 Lieutenants. 8 Sergeants, 32 Corporals and 25 Officers_",,,,,,,,,,,.or a total of 72 officers. The following chart shows the detective schools

leers attended by ranle


Detective Training by Rank 2005 to 2012

Interview or Officer-Assigned to Basic or Core Crime Search & Investigative Involved

Rank Detectives Course" Scene Seizure SpecialtyU Homicide Shooting

lieutenant 7 1 1 4 6 S 4

Sergeant 8 2 2 5 7""-

4

Corporal 32 6 9 25 26 ~ 10' )-. YoOfficer 25 0 1 11 18 \~'"Total 72 9 13 45 A' X"23 y 15

From fu, d,'" w' =ciw,d rm

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal ReponPage 21

Of the 9 Corporals who attended a Crime Scene course I did so in1992, I in 2005, 1 in2006, 1 in 2008, I in 2009, 3 in 20 IO and I in 20 II.

All but 7 of the Corporals attended an Interview/Interrogation or Search & Seizure

course.

The one Police Officer who received Crime Scene t

r of an officer's assignment to a

Lional" and are supposed to return to patrol

'uP' Ions and may even be true in some facets of police work. but it is

it comes to detectives who must:

Have a I orough understanding of the myriad scientific resources, investigative

es and interview skills that are available to solve crimes.

No Police Officer (excluding Corporals) has been 10 the Basileast 2005.

Six of the Corporals have not attended a specialty course. (We were un~if they were in an investigative assignment with mandated Irainin .)

Eight of the Police Officers (excluding Corporals) h(We were unable to determine if they wer ntraining),

after a year in detectives, one

Generally, mandated training is require",.,=r>;

regulated specialty. Because Poli ~irement docs not apply to them. But. failure to

anyone assigned to conduct follow-uQ investigations is ansure. t':rearly, the Department has a great deal of work to do

in ensuring its inv~~~~~g::o~ receive the formal training required for their jobs. Somewill argue th . n-the-Job training" can compensate for a lack of formal training. That

may be true

abso

Be prepared to pass voir dire sbould their testimony be challenged in court;

Remain current on case law pertaining to nearly every aspect of police work; and.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinaI RCpO'1Page 22

Have a good working knowledge of computer systems and resources available in the

cyber world.

s and Lieutenants who were assigned to

hen auditors obtained:

everyone who was assigned to Professional Standards

ce 2005 for everyone who was no longer assigned there.

those training records to identify the internal affairs and detective-

~lmll!S each officer attended.

Recommendation No.8: The Department should audit its

that is mandated by law, e.g., sexual assault, domestic vjJ e

Recommendation No.7: The Department needs to conduct a full review of its training

programs for detectives. The Department must begin the process of ensuring that each and

every detective, including officers rotating through the division, receives the

to be successful in their assignments.

Auditors obtained list of all

Professional Standards

Assessment

programs attended by sworn staff assigne~""'""'...Affairs) Unit.

o 2012, there were 4 Lieutenants, 5 Sergeants and 1 Corporal assigned to

Professional Standards. 12 The following chart shows the investigntive schools each group of

officers attcnded by rank.

I:! Technically, Lieutenants are not assigned to PSU, they rn.:mage PSU as well as several other units.


rse on crime scenes and thm

05 attended the fnterv;ew or Search &

nended the fA Investigation course.

SU since 2005 attended OIS school. (Two of the fourti.ool are currently assigned to PSU.)

was in 1989.

No one who has been assigned to PSU since 2005

detectives.

None of the Lieutenants assig

Seizure course.

PSU Training by Rank 2005 to 2012

Number Basic Dr Officer-Assi8l'~to Core CrimI! Interview Dr Search Involved

Ronk ProfStand Course SCene & Seizure IA Invest ShootlnsUl!uteniint 4 0 1 0 4 3

Sel1le.nt 5 0 0 4 5

Corporal 1 0 0 1

Total 10 0 0 5

From the data provided to us for this portion of the audit, it apl!

investigations routinely involve complex investigations. With lhat

I has a great deal of work to ensure its key personnel. such as those in

the ining required for them to excel in their assignments. "On-the-job"train! is simp~ inadequate, particularly for officers who are responsible for the investigationof litigi :>,p'crtfonnel matters. While beyond the scope of this audit. the Department should also

ensure that PSU has sufficiently trained personnel to investigate critical specialties such asdomestic violence and narcotics/alcohol-related misconduct.


Recommendation No.9: The DepJrtment should conduct a full review of its investigative

training programs for PSU. The Department must begin the process of ensuring that each and

every investigator receives the training they need to excel in their assignments.

Recommendation No. 10: The Department should ensure that PSU investigat

/alcohol-related misconduct.

JON I)t:I'T INTENTIONALLY BLANK


CHAPTER VI: DETECTIVE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

THIS SECTION LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK

te ti,,~staffing and implemented a two.on and the other handles crimes

e ch section and sergeants are distributed to

eration structure from 200 I to the present time:

6.1 Detective Organization

Criminal Investigations Division (ClD) is one of three operational divisions headed by aCommander who reports directly to the Department's Deputy Chief. The CID Commander is

responsible for conducting all of the Department's follow-up criminal investiga . ns as well as

special investigations including. but not limited to, vice, narcotics and the Departm

participation in various investigative task forces.

In May 2011, the Department shifted its app

From about 200 I to mid-2011. ClD was organized under crime-s

which was the industIy standard at that time. For example, tl

robberies, but they also handled purse snatch crimes. Th

commercial burglaries, but they also handled thefts.~::::-.~

upon the table's projected workload.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RcponPage 26

Detective Organizational Structnre: 2001 to Present

6

Jan 2001 to May 2011 May 2011 to PresentCill cm

Robbery/Homicide Crimes Against PersonHomicide (Deaths & Assaults) Homicide (Deaths & Assaults)

Robbery (Purse Snatch) Robbery (j'urse Snatch)Missing Person A.1i.lsi ng Pe~nSexual Assaults Youth & Famjl~ Crim~

~Youth yAuto Theft (Auto Theft & BFMV) Crimes Again't P~operty\ ....... ,Illlrglaryrrhe[t _~esiden\t! Bur!lrrl!),rrheft

Residential Burglaryrrheft /""' ~I(lerci!jjlurglaryrrheftCommercial Burglaryffheft ,,~ ~to TheftlBFMV

Forgery (Checks & Crcdit Cards) A' " ' Financial CrimesYouth & Family

".....- VicefNarcotics

Special Investigations 'ugitive Apprehension Ta

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal Repol1Page 27

2. The supervisor reviews the reports and assigns it one of three "solvability"

classifications:

'''''~.l;~1il: port stating why.

e past two decades, but that is essentially

ments, process their criminal cases. With

S Suspended

RP Refuse to Prosecute

R!U Resolved/UnfoundedP Pending

ROA Rere' Outside Agency

0 Fillci

DA RejectCP Filed

ICP RejectC Closed

0 Open

"A" Good investigative leads.

"B" No particular leads, but actionable, such as requesting forensic analysis or

contacting the victim for a serial number.

"C" No viable leads.3. A copy is sent to the assigned detective and another copy to detect

4. Clerical staff enters the case into the detective Case Manage

5. The detective investigates the case:

If he seeks a criminal filing, he completes a m

indicating the disposition. . ~ If he does not seek a filing, he com ~

6. The case is returned to the supervisor

7.

There have been some variations to I

how the Department and most O"ffi.Ar",

respect to case dispositions

Note: These codes are consistent with those used by most other law enforcement agencies.

In sununaty, every case is supposed to be given a solvability code: assigned to a detective;

closed either with a CDF or ADD report; reviewed by a supervisor; and, entered into CMS.

Pasadcna Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OpcrationsFinal Repol1Page 28

t.ll'~~/ls~~lPe.ars to be the date the clerk entered ther two after the date the cn me occurred and

date and day-ot~the-week an incident occurred

ment, ' e management and managing a detective's work

cases. Penal Code Section 849 (b) (1) allows an officer to release aneste vnen, fie ur ~lle is scui.}jll:U (mil ~;It;:.1 ~ HIt: JIt.ltlJJ lI..,u;n, 0' VU"UJJVI mu.lu"5 ....

The date entcrcd into CMS fo

r :ocess compliance, auditors also tested for compliance and supervisory

6.3 Sample of Investigative Cases

Written policies and procedures are clearly important and should reflect actual organizational

processes. An integral component of any performance audit such as this engagement requires a

comparison of written policy and procedure statements to actual operational practices. In order

to tcst for actual practices, auditors used the 125 cases that were identified for theInvestigation portion of this audit (Chapter VIII). It was determined that 77 0 thad a suspect in custody or appeared to have leads worth investigating. 15 'u se 77 creviewed in detail to assess cach case's level ofcompliance with De artme

Nine of the 77 cases were classified as "C" cases (no viahad named suspects

I e date a clerk enters a report into a system has no analytical

15 Those 125 cases were from 2010. Auditors used directed and purposeful sampling techniques thal were fullydisclosed to De artmem executives.I.

Pasadcna Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal ReportPage 29

02 WIC preflx. Technically, ajuvenile cannot violate aails under the delinquency statute defmed in section 602 of the

and In itut,ons Code. Laws pertaining to juveniles are unique. The Department~\llOe

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RCPOltPage 29

02 WIC prefix. Technically, a juvenile cannot violate aails under the delinquency statute defined in section 602 of the

itu IOns Code. Laws pertaining to juveniles are unique. The Departmentfui1l!~l'ill juvenile arrests to use the WIC prefix to the arrest and booking charge

o readily recognize those cases.

violation ~~~:rn~~~4.

criminal complaint against the person arrested. " There was no evidence of supervisory

approval prior to releasing an arrestee under this section in any ofthe cases evaluated.

This is a significant risk management exposure. A supervisor simply must be involved in

the decision to release an arrestee, if for no other reason than to prevent the appearance of

impropriety. We brought this to the Department's attention mid-audit an

require a Lieutenant's approval for these releases.

2. Certificates of Release. Section 851.6 PC requires officers to issRelease to any arrestee who is:

Released pursuant to 849 (b) (I); or, Released when "no accusatory pleading is fi

Certificates of Release are not being issued to all~proVISIOns. Again, we brought this to the~~~~~~~require a Certificate of Release to be is ed.

3. DA Bypass. When a charge is punishaelony or a misdemeanor, Penal

Code Section l7(b) (4) allows ed to the City Prosecutor (CP) formisdemeanor prosecution be made by the District Attorney or the

detective. Several ca misdemeanor prosecution by the detective, but

approval for that decision.

majority ofjuvenile arrests only show the criminal code

Recommen alion No. 11: The Department should require supervisory approval before

referring an alternate felony/misdemeanor case directly to the City Prosecutor. 17

17 The Department has opted to address this issue through training and supervisory case review. This may suffice asthe City Prosecutor can always return a case for felony consideration.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal Repo11Pagc 31

We would also like to take this opportunity highlight the following Detective operational

improvements, policies, procedures and controls that the Department has initiated in the past twoyears: 18

Development of an Excel spread sheet to track Witness Relocation funds.,

Development ofa confidential infonnant registry to be queried prior to the disbursement

of funds

Requiring seetion lieutenants to review Operations Plans before submittal to the

Divisional Commander

Consolidation of myriad forms and conversion ofmany to a simplified electronic format

Implementation monthly cm audits

Requiring monthly reporting ofoverdue investigations

Development and implementation ofa Latent Print lD hit log

Development ofCID and Forensic major incident debriefs

Development of a format to track minimum and advanced training required byassigmnent.

Development of an intra-net repository for all manuals and directives

Development of a Detective Resource Guide for training new detectives

Utilization ofthe Detective Resource Guide by detectives to enhance skill sets

Updated training on MCI and mandated use by sergeants and detectives

Use ofMCI system as a chronological log for all major investigations

Development of logs to record discovery requests

18 This list represents the highlights. but not all changes to detective operations.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RCP011Page 32

Requiring Discovery requests logs signed by DA are copied and filed in investigative

records

Mandating sergeant's review ofon-going cases every 30 days

Requiring tape recording of informant agreements

Requiring annual audits of informant tiles

Purchasing and using ofvideo cameras by detectives

Monthly Major Case Brief for managers with a memo detailing the cases discussed anddirection for follow-up

Editing & Updating the Detective Manual (on-going)

Requiring the approval of a Section lieutenant to modifY Certificates of Release

Mandating six month performance review for rotational detectives

Providing Brady training provided to all detectives by the DA's Law Enforcement

Liaison

Encouraging Detectives to move from six pack photo line-ups to sequential photo

presentation

Completing a total re-write of the Department's Informant Manual

~~.. '. the pr ess of revising its Detective Resources Guide to incorporate

lis~ore consistent and effective superviwry and management controlrations The Department is to be commended for that outstanding effort! In that

reo, w" .."",,,,, the I)enartment test the on-I!oinl! manual revisions to see ifthev address the.~ "'""':. ..._.. - -follow luI) tfissues with respect to detective operations:

I. Is the detective command structure accurately described?

2. Is the detective command efficiently organized?

3. How are cases received, assigned, tracked and monitored?


4. How are cases classified and are the indicated classifications appropriate?

5. How does management monitor backlogged cases?

6. How does management review case clearances and are they consistent with the FB[Unifonned Guide[ines?

7. How are investigative case packages reviewed for completeness and q,A .of

investigation?

8. Are investigative case packages filed and stored in an acces..

easy retrieval?

9. What are the time limits for investigations and the

[0. \\!hat is the process to "bypass" a felony pro~~==_~~.Ii. \\!hat is the process to release an arrest

[2. Is there an audit schedule?

13. What are the types of cases 0

m Detective Operations' Audits acted upon

.;;.~&(v>'"\:y rega ing due diligence and how are due diligence efforts being

t is the policy regarding supervisory and management review of search warrant

M~~lpolicies regarding sources of information and the use of informants effective andbeing utilized?

19. How are digital media. recorded interviews, photo line-ups and crime scenedocumentation being maintained?

Pasadena Pol ice DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RepanPage 34

20. What are the perfomlance measurements for detective personnel, supervisors and

management personnel?

These are some of the main topics we use to evaluate detective operations and detennine if the

appropriate level of risk management is occurring.

r - ",""-

.... j


CHAPTER VII: HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS

Angeles County Office

alysis of the Department's

from the audit popUlation as

entially result in a meta-audit of the

is beyond the scope of this engagement.

Discussions next centered on

OIS investigations. So, the 4 015 investigat'auditing them would be redundant, not ;p"......" ...,;:work done by the Office of Indepen

Audit Sample

Department records show that from January 1,2005, through December 31,2012, the detectivesassigned to the Department's Homicide/Major Assault Unit' conducted 53 majorinvestigations10 Four of those investigations were Officer-Involved Shootings

were homicides. Of the 49 homicides, 20 were either open or still pending in COli d 29 d

been completed and were through at least the trial court level21 when the s

of the engagement was selected. 22

Initially, the Department considered having Veritas audit a ra

However, that sample methodology was refined during d'

Veritas' Senior Auditor. The Department already contracts \ . h the

of Independent Review for a complete and inde!>.

estigations. It was decided that investigations

lIdited at this time. One factor was the additional

curs phor to and during the trial process which would change

tivil' des and related documents) and require auditors to analyze~ses that were constantly changing. Further, in active cases, thepie are both ably represented by trained lawyers (and their supporting

sta sent and challenge evidence before the trial court judge. The strengthsaknesses of those cases pending trial are more appropriately addressed in that forum.

19 There have been some change..c; to the unit's name over the yeaTS. but its area ofrespon"ibility has remained fairlyconsistent.20 Some of these cases involved more [han one victim. As previously indicated. throughout this report all

~ercentages were rounded up or down to the nearest whole number._I At least some of those cases are in various stages of appeal.~~ The sample was selected on April 2.2013.


Thus, the 20 homicide cases still open or pending in court were removed from the audit

population.

That left 29 homicide cases that were reported to have been closed or processed through thecourt system, at least at the trial level. However, towards the end of the audit process, auditors

discovered that one case was actually an open unsolvedcas~. t that point,auditors had invested significant time in evaluating the case, so the audit was com

Auditors utilized directed and purposeful auditing methodologies through !Jl1l'~-~".engagement. Our initial evaluation of the audit population reveale

who were a significant focus of this engagement were the lea

homicides.23 Therefore, alll3 of those investigations we

randomly selected 14 of the remaining 16 homicide i vestig

completing 7 of the 14 randomly selected cases, . d that at least one case had

been audited for each homicide detective an vidence had been collected to

recommendations. At the sameau . lUg more recent cases may provide some

changes the Department has made to their

ffiijnmlllg 7 homicide cases were removed from theassault cases were added to the non-homicide case

support meaningful risk management an~!ltl::~

time, the Department and auditors r:eeii~insight into the effectiveness of,..o_ ......,

audit (Chapter Vll~:-.::::::~

case

This ~:.liIlii~'1[t,the eng ement evaluated the Department's homicide investigations. Consistentwith ound audi odologies, auditors conducted a full and thorough review of each homicide

ted fo \ this portion of the audit. Specifically, auditors used the standard of due

profession care to evaluate each investigation for sound investigative practices, completeness,

timeliness, appropriateness of disposition, report accuracy and evidence of supervisory and

23 One of the detectives was the lead investigator on eight investigations and the other on five investigations.


management review. Auditors also evaluated each case for compliance with Department policies

and procedures as well as any evidence of unnecessary or excessive risk-management exposure.

.vant documents retained in the

investigation.......~

Interviews and interrogations were conducted in a paccurately in police reports;

The investigation was documented pr

case file;

The Department's response to the initial crime scene was ad

identified and the initial response was thoroughly docume

Physical evidence was identified, collected and anal~(~n~1I..

The Project Manager provided specific training for the highly qualified engagement team andsought their input in developing various audit tools. The auditors dcveloped an audit matrix

designed to capture over 65 specific data points for each investigation in the au

matrix facilitated the auditors' evaluation of each case to detcrmine whcther:

on a ...l'!\'!M

er, who I as an Accreditation in Internal Audit Quality AssessmentlValidation from theal Auditors, conducted additional quality assurance measures. Specific

recommendations were proposed to address anomalies and minimize risk exposures. The

process was arduous considering that homicide casebooks often required multiple three-inch

binders and, in some cases, storage boxes to retain the case's investigative material.


Audit Impairments

ust have reliable

Recordings

During the audit process, Veritas made seveC/l

effective management oversight. Detective supervisors nn I

and readily available status inlormation on their major cas

Record Keeping

At the start of the audit, Vcritas asked the Department to produce a list of all homicides from

2005-20 II and indicate which were solved cases (not pending in trial court) that did not involvean OIS. The original list provided by PPD consisted of39 cases matching those.critcria. During

the review process it was discovered that several of the cases provided to Veritas re still ~court and one was actually an open/unsolved case. As discussed previous Chapte IIthe

Department needs to review its automated systems and ensure that;lft-aning .

captured accurately not only to facilitate case tracking and wor ~ dl 'buti


ach

anagers for policy issues and

resp' nders to most of lhe homicide cases reviewed

ig: lose initial responses. Most response times wereled by Incident History printouts. which were

udtt ;Y. The initial responding officers and supervisors rapidly"-"';fO=;:~....

rime scene perimeters and set up Command Posts as needed.

, . h the number of personnel assigned to each crime scene, insuring

ban adequate personnel were on hand to assist as needed. With very few exceptions,

a1 ed Crime Scene Logs that were thorough and documented the arrival times.

Findings

Patrol officers and supervisors we

in this audit and there were

well within two to four

More to the point, it appears that poor

record maintenance is one of the signi ficant causal factors in the Department's difficulty

responding to Discovery requests and its responsibility to provide evidence which may be

exculpatory. As discussed in Chapter VI, the Department desperatelv needs to reassess its

automated systems to ensure it is capturing and relying on accurate data.

the

homicide scene in the audit sample to determine if the scene was secured i

area was canvassed for witnesses and the initial responders provid

report of their activities and observations.

Assessment

Auditors reviewed each case selected for the audit sample a

determine how the initial responders managed th

necessary, auditors interviewed key PPD per

detectives for any questions on specific--....

depa d duties of those at the scene. Most crime scenes were photographed, somewith video andlor aerial perspectives. The PPD personnel utilized an extensive repertoire of

crime scene techniques and units in an effort to locate witnesses, evidence and suspects. Those

included, but were not limited to, gang officers. K-9 units from other agencies, forensics

. - .

.~ ._--....,. r ....",


personnel and LASD ballistics experts. Due to patrol's efficient response, the suspect(s) wereoften taken into custody before the detectives arrived

Patrol officers typically conducted an extensive canvass to identify witnesses. Their efforts were

chronicled in multiple ADD Reports documenting both the locations where they contacted

people and those where there were no answers. However, with few exceptions,

reports listed only a single occupant at each address, generally the person who ans red the

door. Rarely was there any documented follow-up effort by detectives to

answer" addresses or locations not included in the initial canvass.

e ADD eports completed by officers accurately documented their individual efforts,

the overa 1 ameters ofthe initial canvass (as established by a patrol supervisor) were neverdocumented. Without that information, detectives would have difficulty confirming that alllocations within the designated area had been contacted.


Recommendation No. 13: Patrol officers should receive periodic training on the importance of

documenting all occupants at each address within the designated canvass arca and indicating

who was or was not present when the incident occurred. The parameters of the initial canvass

need to be documented in the case file as well.

r policy issues and detectives

ni ans received a briefing at the crime scene from

occssed the crime scene while the detectives began

This p actice basically let the Technicians decide what

echnicians would then document their discoveries in

ally inc uded a diagram of the crime scene and site survey. Other than

the fust responders. Then

their investigation and ~evidence to collec}!ADD ReportSO"l'v!li


dctectives stay with the crime scene Technician when possible. There was no evidence of that

occurring in the five post-2008 homicide cases in the audit sample

In the auditors' experience and training, homicide invcstigations benefit greatly when the

detectives and Technicians examine the crime scene together, as opposed to sep

promotes consensus in identifying potential items of evidence and deciding whicH

analysis would most benefit the investigation. This "partncrship" better e

item of potential evidence would not be missed and provides detec .

knowledge of what evidence was collected rather than having

later date.

2.2 Evidence Collection

The Department uses t sep. te


109 disc,{pancies can bc explained later during t~slimony. therelis fashion. The Department's current practice produces

vi ee; presents unnecessary obstacles in proving an item's chain-of-r

tectives and Technicians to accusations of carelessness in processing

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RepOllPage 44

Recommendation No. 15: The Department should adopt a more streamlined, practical system

for numbering evidence and other items gathered during criminal investigations. Each item

should be listed separately and assigned its own unique item number. The Department should

also consider transitioning to a single evidence report specifically designed to address the

Department's needs.

Another area ofconcern was investigations in which multiple officenr and t

numerous items of evidence.

6: An Evidence Officer" should be designated for each search

location, e ecially "lien earch warrant is involved. The Evidence Officer is responsible for

retr"~nd documenting all evidence seized at the location. Anyone else who sees a piece of"VI _nc.p.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RcportPage 45

2.3 DNA Analysis

This audit identified several areas of concern regarding the request or failure to request

appropriate analysis of booked evidence.

During one initial crime scene investigation. the technicians processed the inside of a restaurant

for prints and DNA, with "an emphasis on" a particular table

analysis was not in the case file. Simply stated, a request for a

rationale for the requested analysis.

In another case. a cigarette butt was recovered from the side\

standing

no evidence the swab was compared to the cj"

Recommendation No. 17: The Department should establish a working group of senior

homicide detectives and evidence technicians to propose appropriate policy and procedure

recommendations associated with requests for DNA and other scientific analysis.


2.4 Firearms Analysis

'd 5 to 10 shots at the victim_

at the scene were found to have been

""'.w~'... Follow-Up Report offered no explanation for not including the second phonenumber in the court order, nor did it indicate whether any relevant information was gleaned from

the voluminous materials furnished by the respective service providers,

ctcrisf s, but there was no documentation that the projectiles'ey had been discharged from a single or differcnt firearms.

cartridge casings collected at the scene had been inter-co'I1jJ''lJ';Udatabase or if the evidence and coroner projectiles had beencompare~. This would have es It!5involved and may have provided a link to any'

Eyewitnesses in another case believed t)ll"'~""":'o;_. However, the ten cartrid

fired from the same 9mrn fires

A search warrant was obtained to seize a murder suspect's cell phone and computer in order to

identify any co-conspirators, determine ifhe had a mistress, or locate evidence offmancial


difficulty Though the search warrant was served and the items seized, there

Most importantly, it is

ing will be addressed in detail later

Recommendation No. 18:

was no documentation indicating that any forensic analysis was requested or completed on either

the computer or cell phone. If any analysis was conducted and nothing was found, that in and of

itself, could be interpreted as exculpatory evidence and should have been documented. In that

same case, a suicide letter purportedly written by the victim and a partial eulogY1Titten by the

suspect contained sufficient handwriting similarities to warrant forensic exami~(l 1. Ifbo 1documents were authored by the same person, it could support the notion Ila ay

have been a premeditated murder.

eliminate suspects so they could better focus their i~\P;;::l!I1~,,_--_...

abundantly clear that a "fresh set of eyes" is

reasonable investigative lead is being purs d.

in this Chapter under Objective 6: Su

2.6 Disposi

The ce Disposition section of the Complaint Disposition Form (CDF) includes a section forevid ce diSPO~Ol1m,d a check box to indicate if a copy should be sent to Property & Evidence.Audit rs ote iltat none of the CDrs indicated property dispositions and none of them indicated a

copy should be sent (0 Property & Evidence. During our interviews with key detectives we wereinformed that they never fill out the Evidence Disposition portion of the form because "it does not

go to Property." Instead, they wait [or Property to send out a written request for instructions anddeal with it at that time. There is a great deal more to discuss about this process and the best

Pasadena Police DepanmentPerformance Audit ofDetective OperationsFinal ReportPage 48

examples arose during the audit of non-homicide cases. So, this issue will be addressed in ChapterVlli Non-Homicide Investigations.

tive recognized that the suspect's mental state

a fu I vestigation into the suspect's past that included

es t

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RepOltPage 49

detective's ADD report for specifics on the statement, but that statement was not in the ADD

report and there was no other documentation in the case file or in Records that this witness was

ever interviewed.27

cticable. the employee

t be directly involved in the

neollsly. .. Section 600.5 further states: "The

III ' e dOCllmented ill the case report. A copy oftheeport. Witness comments ... should be quoted in the

Another example occurred in a case, which appears to have been witnessed by several people

who were never identified or interviewed Those potential w' nesses included

a man reportedly taking pictures of the scene immediately after the shooting, a na

who allegedly told some passersby about the shooting and a security guarY'."'_'L'

in the parking lot during the shooting.

aiinvestigations Division, Detective Resource Guide. dated May 2011f ''I; 0 should present the photographs to the witness. But the

""Ii:liiO;ytion and Prosecution Policy Manual, issued July 13,2012, reiterates long-

stan fig policy lhat, ''It'hen practicable. rhe employee composing and the employee presentingthe pho~~should not be directly involved in the investigation ofthe case. ..

... lineup ...should be in

appropriate repor)'~t=::=:=':~1o..

employee presenting the photograpl

witness one photograph at a till'

The DepartmP'llP't''f':

3.2 Photo Identification of Suspects

In the Department's Policy Manual, issued June 3, 1996~Section 600.5 Photographic Identification of Suspects states:

composing and the employee presenting the phor(fili.ne f. s I IIinvestigation ofthe case." Subsection (c) sta

27 Because the detective referred to another detcclivc's ADD report, there is a possibility he aso;umed the otherdetective conducted the interview.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal ReponPage 50

There was one case in which

, At the conclusion of the witness' first (tapeas shown a prepared photo line-up, The wimess can be

looks like this guy" but no one vocalized or otherwise

w 'ch he was referring, When the detective asked him to explain his

en')rned the nose, ears, sideburns and lack of facial hair. Theto ignore the "hail''' as it was subject to change, However, the

Recommendation No. 19: Supervisors should b":,'rt;l~'::J:J~~

In spite of these long-standing policies requiring an uninvolved detective to present a wimess

with photos, none of the cases in this audit sample complied with those policies, One could

argue that the policy says "when practical" but then one would also have to argue that it was

never practical to comply with the policy, We also understand from our interviews of detective

personnel that record personnel are used on occasion to put the six-pack photo Ii

It is the auditors' opinion that the Department's existing policy regarding an unin

detective presenting the photos to a wimess and the manner in which thos_"', ...."'"presented is a widely accepted "best practice" in conducting crimin'

Unfortunately, detective supervisors have allowed their subordi

policy in almost every case evaluated during this audit.

heard on the tape sli:~gjJ!!.::o~~recorded the

detwitn . riirf not \.ltpr wh::at \V~

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinai ReportPage 51

The six-pack photo array in the case package has one of the photograph numbers circled. it is

initialed by tbe witness and dated the same date as the second interview28

manstrate the change in appearance. At

nd til witness was asked to "point out the individual

ds of silence, tbe witness indicated "Right here."

witb which. the witness used for eli

that point. a six-photo array was

ron N .20: The Department should conduct a full biopsy of this investigation

d k . . ,.an ta e appropnate aCllon.

"au i e on the recording. (The suspect was not arrested and this

First, the detective's ADD report states the identification occurred during the initial interview

even though it occurred and the array was dated a month later. Further, a review of the tape

recording of the second interview shows that the interview and identification un Ided quite

differently. Listening to tbe recording, the detective can be heard saying, "Look a

. indicating that the witness was first shown a single photo. When the witn

over the complexion and width of the nose. the detective stated tha

nose and asked "Does that look like the individual?" Vv'hen th

detective asked him to explain why not. The witness repli'

The detective asked if, despite the hair and eyebrow differe

~s It is unclear from the case file if this wa.;; a new arrav or the same array,.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal Rep0l1Page 52

Recommendation No. 21: The Department should consider a "cold case" review of this

investigatio~since there appear to be several potential leads and scientificevidence available to support further investigation.

ey

obtained it will be scrutinized by a judge and/or jury IN. 0 aredetermining if a statement is credible. Recogni

taught interrogation skills early on in their c Ils are continuously refined and

3.3 Interrogation of Suspects

Case and statutory laws allow police officers a great deal oflatitude in th

interrogate suspects. Legally, officers are allowed to exaggerate and

any statement they elicit must withstand scrutiny in court where v.

decisions are applied to determine if the statement was "free

under duress." But when a statement is admitted in cou

r." So it is within the broader context

n Just staying within the confines of

nner in which Pasadena Police Department

w entified the following areas of concern:

cipants in the interview, as well as the date and time of the

~~~~~~,s present in the interview room;--

ailure t, accurately synopsize the interview in police reports;

honed, often through experientiallearn~~:::of developing a high-quality invest"

Fai ure to document all contacts and/or interviews (discovery);

Extensive use of an "implied waiver;" and,

Continued questioning after invocation ofMiranda.


JO Auditors are highly experienced law enforcement professionals, out not


.11 California POST "Basic Course Workbook" Inve~[ig3uve lnterrogation.s ~e\"1ion.

Pasadena Police DepanmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinnl RepanPage 55

_.. _ __. _._~J

..

he Depanment needs to decide the manner in which it expects its

det ve,;'and ofiicers to conduct their interrogations, document those expect"tions in its

pol .es, proce ures and training materials and hold supervisor accountable for ensuring their


Recommendation No. 23: All detectives and their supervisors be required to attend periodicPOST certified Interrogation Law and Tactics courses in order to keep current on case law and

best practices.

s to record the statements ofkey witnesses and

were not recorded, there was no rationale given

supervisory oversight or involvement in those

. ns such as a murder and particularly in gang cases,

-dramatically alter their statements often due to fear of

ctions, or in furtherance of an ongoing gang conflict. A recording

or sus ects original statements adds another level of documentary evidence in

spute over what was stated or understood. When a statement is recorded,

Recommendation No. 25: The Department should con

review of court records and interviews of key witn~~~~~f'and take appropriate action.

Recommendation No. 24: Detective supervisors should listen to their detechv

interviews as frequently as possible and compare the interview to what i

report to ensure the interview was documented completely and acc ately.

the

3.4 Recording Interviews and InteAuditors found inconsistency in

suspects but not others.

of wi.1Jl~;S\;:s

ent it in the reports raises credibility issues during discovery at trial. The

following cases provide good examples of our findings in this objective.

During the course of this a


...

Recommendation No, 26: The Department needs to deci m>e 0

recorded, puhlish those expectations in the appropriate ~rcy andsupervisors accountable for ensuring their sUbordi,llll~e~'~:ii;~~cases where the Department gives detectives tion ' 1 the rec rdation of interviews, the

detectives should be required 10 document ~al in 'e investigative file whenever theydecide not to record an interview,

gue ed copies of recorded media to assist in the audit

casion, he digital media copies could not be opened because

myn d'electronic fonnats. On those occasions, auditors were~==s~

etective Lieutenant who indicated that the Department has

recei . plaints from both the District Attorney and defense attorneys regarding the inability

to 0 n recorde~ Igltal media. Apparently, in addition to the audio/video equipment providedby the ~ artl lnt, officers have their own audio recording devices as well as the audioequipment found in some of the patrol and detective vehicles. Each of these systems has its ownelectronic format and the media from one cannot be opened in the other. As of this report, the

Department has not resolved this problem.


Recommendation No. 27: As a matter ofutmost urgency, the Department needs to do

whatever is necessary to ensure that recorded interviews are in a standard format that allows

them to be reviewed.

Auditors reviewed the documentation for each case selected for

the reports were complete and accurate, if the documentatio

investigation and, if the various investigative reports rec n . ed wit

physical, documentary, testimonial and/or other eVicl""'l\l~':;,;;;,~~~.key PPD personnel, including managers for po . d detectives for questions on specific'

cases.

Assessment

Objective 4: Investigative Documentation. Determine the completeness of ihV1~'1ltl"Jdocumentation both in the case file and records unit file.

Findings

There were numerous reports in t for the audit sample that contained inaccurate

or conflicting information an sstatements of fact. Those errors occurred in

many of the ADD Repo ements of Probable Cause in support of Search

Warrants and PCDs. we reviewed, there was no documentation for the case after it

was presented to y and no information regarding the court disposition or

Another factor is that in many

e detectives worked for days with little or no sleep pursuing leads, serving search

warrants and arresting suspects. But in a much larger sense. the poor documentation flows from

a complete lack of supervisory oversight of the detectives' work product. None of the cases we

32 This was addressed and appropriate recommendations proposed in Chapter V of this report.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OpemtiollsFinal ReportPage 59

reviewed had anv documentation that a supervisor (or anyone other than the author) reviewedaffidavits before they were presented to a judge, or that a supervisor reviewed the case before itwas presented to a prosecutor. There call be no doubt that this lack of supcrvisory review was a

significant contributor to most, if not all of the discrepancies found in this audit. As discussed in

the introduction of this report, somc of those errors surfaced in court hearings. T

cases being dismissed, charges being reduced and the reputation and credibili. '

Department and its officers being challenged in the media.

4,1 ADD Reports

The Department is to be commended for its practice of havin

complete an ADD Report documenting their individual canlributl

practice makes it imperative that both the lead invcstigator 3 d the sUPJ -'isor review all reports

to ensure that they accurately reflect the facts. )-11

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RcpnnPage 61

4.2 Search WarrantsThere were numerous homicide cases in which the detectives obtai

residences. business, cars and records. Their diligence in obtai '~thcommendable. However. many of the reports and affidavi

warrants contained incomplete and incorrect infonnation, 0

located. There were myriad cases where there was ~()iNJ~fll]~~

requirement. Finally, there was no evidence of.application was made to a judge.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerfonnance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal ReronPage 62


. _ ~ .__ v-..-._~... ~ . ... _ .. J.

o as "Separation of Duties" and is intended to prevent any conflict of

Recommendation No. 28: A detective supervisor should b

search warrant before detectives submit it to a magistrat

be documented (initial each page). The Departmen Iso nethe return of search warrants and it needs to co

compliance with these requirements.

~~i"_rrests are legally justified and prevent personal involvement from interferingwith what should be a very objective factbased decision.

com

strategies employed by most law enforcement agencies

is a requiremcnt that ani Icer aki'ng a arrest obtain written booking approval from an

uninvolved superv', allowed to book a suspect into jail. Whenever possible thesupervisor w king aj> roval should also be the supervisor who approves the reports inorder to ens ect the information the supe.rvisor was told and relied upon when

the s .sor approved the suspect's booking. This risk management control process is

The Pasadena Police Department has had an essentially similar policy in place for many years.

However. there was no evidence of supervisory booking approval or report review in the

homicide cases we reviewed. During interviews with key Department personnel we were

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RcportPage 64

informed that the booking and report approval requirement has not applied to arrests made by

detectives for several years. We also noted that the Department's Pre-Booking Review form J3

does not capture the name and serial number of the supervisor who approved the booking.

We found several arrest reports and peDs in the homicide case files that did not articulate any

probably cause whatsoever for the booking charge. In the following four cases 6t only was no

probable cause articulated in the arrest reports, but there was no probable cause fo ,'the bookin::,charge in the entire case file. 34

3J PPD 0729 (Rev 09/08).3.. In each case, several lesser felony charges were available. but not Ihl: one for whi-.:h thty wen~ booked.

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsI'inal ReportPage 65

Yshows that a Corporal approved the

ion No. 30: The Department should amend its Pre-Booking Review form toinclude the name and serial number of the supervisor approving the booking.

The Departmcnt should conduct a biopsy of the four cases cited in

. allows Corporals to approve misdemeanor

t policy has eroded in this area creating a high-risk

d IX" v and risky practice.

where Corporals (non-supervisory rank) gave tlthose cases, the Complaint Dispositio


Recommendation No. 31: The Department needs to enforce its policy that every arrest must

be reviewed and approved in writing by an uninvolved supervisor and every arrest report must

be reviewed and approved by a supervisor, preferably the one who approved the booking.

I because logs for simple cases can be

uc diligence efforts to locate and apprehend suspects. Forused to doclltJjro:nl~

4.4 Chronological Logs

Note keeping is an essential tool in managing the tremendous volume of i

in a typical homicide investigation and for establishing a chronologv

note keeping tool lor an investigator is a comprehensive Chrono

ions, especially those involving numerous

witnesses and forensic sup n. simply must usc a log to capture all the "moving parts." Of most

importance, chronologie.. log. 1'C an invtf!uable tool required for an effective managementreview of comple.

~~~,

The necessity for all detectives to keep . .(f

That is not to say that every case reS!

forms of a Chronological Log but discontinued usi g

consuming. Other detectives viewed their AD

example, on of the 1 (lic es in our audit sample involved a suspect who was a fugitive foroverJh~'ears after the murder . The case file had no information on the DueDili4?ce perto?ll'"d'~nthe murder warrant between the time it was issued in 2007 and its

J5 Practical Homicide Investigation, Vernon Geberth, Elsevier Press, 1983

Pasadena Police DepartmentPerformance Audit of Detective OperationsFinal RcportPage 67

Recommendation No. 32: The Department should create a Chronological log and require all

detectives to use it and document their actions including court proceedings, discovery requests

and final court disposition. The log should also indicate when the detective supervisor

reviewed the case to cnsure thc invcstigation was thorough and on track.

~ selected for the audit sample tot!'the case and to determine if the

effective management of the case and

ersight. Auditors also compared the material

to ensure all relevant reports had been included

itors ipterviewed key PPD personnel including managers for

uestions on specific cascs.

Auditors reviewed the case book for each mu

4.5 Documentation of Recordings

Please see our findings and related rccommendations in Objective 3Interrogations.

Objective 5: Organization of Homicide Case Books.investigation selected for the audit to detennine if it was co

Assessment

Findings

The audit m Veritas consisted of copies of the material in the Case File, asf repor from the Records Unit files. Auditors conducted a detailed comparison

of th e files to the originals to ensure they were consistent, which they werc.

Audi found h

Pasadena Police Department Audit

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