Policy Text
Policy
331Garden Grove Police Department
Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/05/24, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Garden Grove Police
DepartmentIdentity Theft - 1Identity Theft
331.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
Identity theft is a growing trend that frequently involves related crimes in multiple jurisdictions. This
policy is intended to provide guidelines for the reporting and investigation of such crimes.
331.2 REPORTING
(a)In an effort to maintain uniformity in reporting, officers presented with the crime of
identity theft ( Penal Code § 530.6) shall initiate a report for victims residing within the
jurisdiction of this department when the crime occurred. For incidents of identity theft
occurring outside this jurisdiction, officers should observe the following:
1.For any victim not residing within this jurisdiction, the officer may either take a
courtesy report to be forwarded to the victim’s residence agency or the victim
should be encouraged to promptly report the identity theft to the law enforcement
agency where he or she resides.
(b)While the crime of identity theft should be reported to the law enforcement agency
where the victim resides, officers of this department should investigate and report
crimes occurring within this jurisdiction which have resulted from the original identity
theft (e.g., the identity theft occurred elsewhere, but the credit card fraud occurred and
is reported in this jurisdiction).
(c)Officers should include all known incidents of fraudulent activity (e.g., credit card
number applied for in victim’s name when the victim has never made such an
application).
(d)Officers should also cross-reference all known reports made by the victim (e.g., U.S.
Secret Service, credit reporting bureaus, U.S. Postal Service and DMV) with all known
report numbers.
(e)The reporting officer should inform victims of identity theft that the California Identity
Theft Registry is available to help those who are wrongly linked to crimes. The registry
can be checked by law enforcement and other authorized persons to investigate
whether a criminal history or want was created in the victim's name ( Penal Code §
530.7). Information regarding the California Identity Theft Registry can be obtained by
calling toll free (888) 880-0240.
(f)Following supervisory review and department processing, the initial report should be
forwarded to the appropriate detective for follow up investigation, coordination with
other agencies and prosecution as circumstances dictate.
331.3 RELATED PROCEDURES
See IDENTITY THEFT PROCEDURES in the Garden Grove PD Procedures Manual.