California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System
The California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) is the computer network that connects public safety agencies across the state to criminal histories, driver records, and other databases. Since 2014, EFF has served as a watchdog for this system, drawing attention to open meetings violations, attempts to integrate face recognition technology, and failures by the California Attorney General's Office to enforce regulations around misuse.
In 2018, the California Attorney General's Office announced an overhaul of the oversight process, resulting in for the first time the release of near-comprehensive data on when police officers inappropriately access data on California residents.
Updates
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Police in California have your data literally at their fingertips. They can sit at a computer terminal or in their squad car and check your DMV records, your criminal records, your parking citations, any restraining orders you’ve filed or have been filed against you. They can search other state databases...
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For more than a year, EFF has been investigating how police in California misuse the state’s law enforcement database with little oversight from officials. An investigation published by the Associated Press today shows that abuse of law enforcement systems is a nationwide problem. The AP’s investigation analyzed records from...
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EFF’s efforts to fix holes in oversight of the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) are paying off.New data and records released by California Department of Justice (CADOJ) show a steep increase in the number of agencies disclosing cases of abuse of the state's network of law enforcement databases—a major...
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The California Department of Justice (CADOJ) is ending its practice of holding meetings in ways that impede the public's ability to meaningfully participate in oversight of the state's sprawling network of police databases. The new reforms, announced in response to EFF advocacy, will allow greater opportunity for Californians to review...
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Confirmed cases of misuse of California’s sprawling unified law enforcement information network have doubled over the last five years, according to records obtained by EFF under the California Public Records Act.That adds up to a total 389 cases between 2010 and 2014 in which an investigation concluded that a user—often...
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