Policy Text
Roll Call Training Bulletin
Produced by: Captain Ethan Hanson, Office of Investigations Katherine Lester , Chief of Police
Prepared by: Sergeant Echeverria, SACA , Officer Bassett , PSU Volume 25-9
SCAR REPORTS AND ESCARS
2-27-2025
In California, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CARNA) mandates that certain professionals
(mandated reporters) must report suspected child abuse and neglect to the Department of Child, Family, and
Adult Services (DCFAS), local law enforcement, and the county district attorney's office. The district attorney
oversees the response and results of each investigation. Due to outdated and inefficient communication
methods, such as faxed or mailed hard -copy forms, many California counties struggle with timely cross -
reporting. This has resulted in numerous high -profile lawsuits across the state. The Electronic Suspected C hild
Abuse Reporting System ( ESCARS ) was created to address these issues by ensuring all reports of child
neglect and abuse, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse , are entered into a centralized system.
To achieve an immediate and thorough response to suspected child abuse reports, the department will use a
triad approach involving Communications, Operations, and Investigations. Below is an introduction to ESCARS
and an outline of roles and responsibiliti es for each entity. This system will ensure that reports of suspected
child abuse are promptly accepted, triaged, and investigated, protecting children, and ensuring compliance
with the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) in accordance with Penal Code §§ 11164 -11174.3
A. IMPLEMENTATION OF ESCARS
1. With the implementation of ESCARS, the Sacramento Police Department (SPD) will treat every
Suspected Child Abuse Report ( SCAR ) as a call for service, ensuring compliance with CANRA and the
immediate protection of children.
B. COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION RESPONSIBILITIES
1. 24-Hour Coverage: Monitor the DCFAS ESCARS system daily.
2. Call for Service: All applicable ESCARS will be entered as calls for service and entered into CAD with
an appropriate police incident type code. The priority can be upgraded or downgraded depending on
incident details. Use the term ESCARS at the beginning of the text of the call.
3. Logging on to ESCARS .
a. Log on to the LIVE Sacramento County Electronic Suspected Abuse Report System website
https://escars.sacda.org/home using your department outlook credentials.
b. Once logged in, you will see a dashboard that contain tiles grouped into four areas:
(1) LEA Agency Status
(2) LEA Agency Action
(3) Submission/Upload, Transmission/Email and Routing/Forwarding
(4) Rerouted SCARs (from LEA to Hotline)
4. The numbers on the tiles indicate the number of ESCARS, in that category, received during the
selected date range .
Roll Call Training Bulletin
Produced by: Captain Ethan Hanson, Office of Investigations Katherine Lester , Chief of Police
Prepared by: Sergeant Echeverria, SACA , Officer Bassett, PSU Volume 25-9
5. Monitoring Specific Tiles .
a. The Communications Division is responsible for monitoring the UNOPENED and FORWARD
REQUEST RECEIVED tiles under the LEA AGENCY STATUS category. All other categories will
be monitored by the Investigations Division. The list of categories under LEA AGENCY STATUS
include:
(1) Critical/Fatal – ESCARS flagged by the Child Abuse Hotline and appended with an alert flag on
the ESCAR details page. These ESCARS shall be monitored by the Investigations Division.
(2) Unopened – ESCARS received through the DCFAS hotline will be processed by the
Communication Center. These ESCARS are from various mandated reporters and the general
public. These are any ESCARS that are not generated by law enforcement.
(3) Pending – ESCARS placed into pending status by the Communications Division once a call for
service is generated. The Investigations Division shall monitor all pending ESCARS on the
back end and will be responsible for updating the final disposition of the ESCAR based on the
outcome of the call.
(4) LEA Generated – ESCARS initially reported to the Hotline by law enforcement that need to be
triaged and added to the related law enforcement report. These ESCARS shall be monitored
and triaged by the Investigations Division.
(5) Forward Request Received – ESCARS sent from another Sacramento County LEA that shall be
accepted or denied by a communications division employee once it’s confirmed whether or not
the incident occurred within city limits.
(6) Forward Request Submitted – Forwarded ESCARS in which SACPD discovers that the alleged
incident of abuse occurred in another law enforcement agency’s jurisdiction and the SCAR
requires forwarding in ESCARS.
6. Procedures for Handling ESCARS .
a. Receiving an ESCAR :
(1) Verify the incident location is within city limits.
(2) Confirm no prior related law enforcement response regarding this incident.
(3) Note the 19 -digit ESCAR reference number on the CAD call for service.
Roll Call Training Bulletin
Produced by: Captain Ethan Hanson, Office of Investigations Katherine Lester , Chief of Police
Prepared by: Sergeant Echeverria, SACA , Officer Bassett, PSU Volume 25-9
7. Opening an Unopened ESCAR .
a. Click on the tile labeled “Unopened” to view an ESCAR.
b. Click on the column labeled “Created Date in ESCARS.” This will display the oldest ESCAR first,
which is