Statewide — Members of California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board’s POST Subcommitteeconvened Monday, Sept. 8, to review the state’s field training program for new police officers and discuss strategies for preventing racial and identity profiling across California’s more than 500 law enforcement agencies.

The meeting focused heavily on the subcommittee’s two-year review of the Peace Officer Standards and Training(POST) field training program, which all new officers must complete after graduating from the academy.

This “Part Two” of officer preparation consists of at least 400 hours of on-the-job instruction under a Field Training Officer (FTO).

“The field training program must equip new officers to engage respectfully and build trust with the diverse communitiesthey are sworn to protect and serve,” said consultant Rebecca Hetey, a Stanford-trained behavioral scientist who has worked with law enforcement agencies for over a decade.

“California Penal Code 13519.4 reinforces this need by requiring that training stress understanding and respect for racial identity and cultural differences,” said Hetey.

Hetey and former Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn were tapped by the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to guide the review.

Hahn, who spent 34 years in law enforcement, emphasized the formative role FTOs play in shaping the next generation of officers.

“Field training officers have tremendous influence on shaping the behaviors of basic academy graduates,” Hahn said. “They are uniquely positioned to practice racial and identity profiling prevention because they educate officers when they first hit the streets.”

The consultants introduced a rubric designed to help RIPA board members systematically evaluate POST training materials, including Daily Observation Reports and performance competencies related to community relations and bias prevention.

According to Hahn, these reports track a trainee’s progress each day, with specific sections addressing interactions with the community and racial profiling.

“Agencies can add information to these forms that reflect their specific policies, but the standardized evaluationguidelines ensure that key areas like racial identity profiling are reviewed consistently,” he said.

Board members voiced concerns about how FTOs are selected and trained to confront their own biases.

Hahn explained that FTOs undergo additional training and must be selected through departmental processes, often including interviews.

“It’s a very big decision who we pick because they’re training our officers for the years to come,” he added.

Some board members raised fears that the culture within individual departments could undermine academy training.

The DOJ presented a near-final draft of the POST section of the RIPA Board’s upcoming 2026 annual report.

The draft outlines past recommendations, responses from POST and ongoing efforts to measure the effectiveness of bias training.

Marisol León, a civil rights attorney with the DOJ, explained that the report includes suggestions for how law enforcement agencies can better track progress, such as administering pre- and post-course assessments, conducting body-camera footage reviews and monitoring shifts in citizen complaints related to racial profiling.

Additionally, the report reviews two 2024 workshops where RIPA members and DOJ staff helped develop a definition of “biased conduct” for use in hiring and internal affairs investigations.

Board members discussed the possibility of including information about recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles in future reports.

Others highlighted how these raids have heightened fear in immigrant communities and could intersect with bias issues addressed under RIPA’s mandate.

The board decided to table the issue for now, with plans to address immigration enforcement and its community impact at a dedicated October board meeting.

The subcommittee confirmed that its next full board meeting will take place on Oct. 9, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The DOJ committed to sharing copies of the draft course guidelines with the board following Tuesday’s POST Commission vote.