Policy Text
Policy
330Santa Ana Police Department
Santa Ana PD Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/09/04, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Santa Ana Police DepartmentIdentity Theft - 1Identity Theft
330.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
Identity theft is a growing trend that frequently involves related crimes in multiple jurisdictions. This
policy provides guidelines for the reporting and investigation of these crimes.
330.2 REPORTING
(a)In an effort to maintain uniformity in reporting, officersinvestigating the crime of
identity theft ( Penal Code § 530.5) 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 ( Penal Code § 530.6), officers should consider 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 or the victim business is located, officers of this department
should investigate and report crimes occurring within this jurisdiction resulting 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., fraudulently
obtained credit card number(s), bank account(s), loans and/or the suspect using the
victims social security number to work).
(d)Officers should also cross-reference all known reports made by the victim (e.g.,
Law enforcement agency(ies), credit reporting bureaus, U.S. Postal Service, Social
Security Administration 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 or on the following website: www.oag.ca.gov/idtheft.
(f)Following supervisory review and departmental processing, the initial report should
be forwarded to the appropriate detective/investigator for follow up investigation,
coordination with other agencies and prosecution as circumstances dictate.