Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA)

The Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) of 2015 requires all California law enforcement agencies to collect specific information on certain types of police contacts (detentions, and contacts during which a person is searched). The Santa Monica Police Department's legal obligation to collect and submit this data to the California Department of Justice began with calendar year 2022. We are committed to sharing the data with our community.

The Santa Monica Police Department believes in fair and impartial policing, free from discrimination or bias. We are committed to providing outstanding service while respecting the racial, cultural, and other differences of those we serve in our diverse community.

SMPD's Community Presentation PowerPoint

SMPD's 2023 RIPA Report

State of California 6th Annual RIPA Board Report

FAQ

What is RIPA and what data is collected?

The data is entered by our officers at the completion of their interaction with the person. The data required to be collected includes:

the date, time, duration, and location of the stop
information about the stopped person, as perceived by the officer:
- race or ethnicity
- gender
- age
- if the officer perceived the person to be LGBT
- if the officer perceived the person as having limited or no English fluency
- if the officer perceived the person as having a disability
the reason for the stop
if the stop was made in response to a call for service
actions taken by the officer during the stop
the basis for any search and if property was seized
if any contraband or evidence was discovered
the result of the stop
the officer's unique identification number, years of experience at the time of the stop, and assignment at the time of the stop

How can I view RIPA data?

For data collected in 2022, please refer to the SMPD RIPA Report and PowerPoint.

Starting with data collected in 2023 (reporting in May 2024, the data will be available for public review in two ways:

The raw data will be available for download by community members.
This webpage will have an interactive RIPA data dashboard that can display the data using user-defined filters.

What does the RIPA data show?

As a result of RIPA, law enforcement agencies now have access to more statistical information about detentions and searches than ever before. The interpretation and analysis of RIPA data, though, is complex and nuanced.

The SMPD hopes that subsequent years of RIPA data collected in Santa Monica will help the community understand who is being stopped by the police within the city and see the outcomes from those stops.

For more information about the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, please visit the following website: https://oag.ca.gov/ab953