Professional Conduct
Contact Information for Programs and Services
Bureau Overview
The Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division (POSAD) was created by the passage of Senate Bill 2 and signed into law on September 30, 2021, by Governor Newsom. This law establishes a certification requirement for peace officers in California beginning on January 1, 2023, and the ability to revoke or suspend that certification if an act(s) of serious misconduct occurs by a peace officer. The Professional Conduct Bureaus were established to fulfill this role.
The primary responsibility of the bureaus is to review investigations conducted by law enforcement agencies or any other investigative authority and to conduct additional investigations, as necessary, into serious misconduct committed by a peace officer that may provide grounds for suspension or revocation of a peace officer’s certification. If misconduct occurred, the Bureau shall present the findings and recommendations to the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board and the Commission to bring the proceedings forward to seek a suspension or revocation.
The bureaus shall be staffed with experienced and able employees that are capable of handling the most complex and varied types of decertification investigations, prosecutions, and administrative proceedings against peace officers.
Relevant Information
Serious misconduct has been defined by Commission Regulation 1205.
The bureaus can receive allegations of serious misconduct from a variety of sources, including the following:
- Citizen Complaint to POST
- Employing agency reporting of alleged serious misconduct to POST within 10 days of receiving an allegation
- Commission directed investigation
- POSAD directed investigation
POST’s investigative role is for the sole purpose of decertification. POST will not conduct a disciplinary or internal affairs investigation on behalf of an employing agency or conduct a criminal investigation. The evidentiary burden of proof on a decertification investigation is clear and convincing evidence. Peace Officers who have lost their certification through California POST will be reported to the National Decertification Index and will be made public via POST’s Website.