Policy Text
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW NEXT REVIEW
2 01/24/2011 06/01/201 9 06/01/20 20
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
______________________________
1026 - Peace Officer Personnel Files 1 POLICY 1026 PEACE OFFICER PERSONNEL FILES
1026.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This section governs the maintenance, retention and access to peace officer personnel files in
accordance with established law. It is the policy of this department to maintain the confid entiality
of peace officer personnel records pursuant to Penal Code § 832.7.
1026.1.1 ACCREDITATION STANDARDS
This section pertains to the following CALEA Standards: 26.1.8 , 82.1.1
This section pertains to the following Standard Operating Procedures: N/A
1026.2 PERSONNEL FILES DEFINED
Pursuant to Penal Code § 832.8, peace officer personnel records shall include any file maintained
under an individual officer’s name relating to:
a) Perso nal data, including marital status, family members, educational and em ployment
history, home address, or similar information ;
b) Medical history including medical leave of absence forms, fitness for duty examinations,
workers compensation records, medical releases and all other records which reveal an
employee’s past, current o r anticipated future medical conditions ;
c) Election of employee benefits ;
d) Employee advancement, appraisal, or discipline ;
e) Complaints , or investigations of complaints, concerning an event or transaction in which
the officer participated, or which the officer perceived, and pertaining to the manner in
which the officer performed official duties ;
f) Any other information the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy.
1026.3 EMPLOYEE RECORD LOCATIONS
Employee records will ge nerally be maintained in any of the following:
a) Personnel File - That file which is maintained in the office of the Chief of Police as a
record of an employee’s employment with this department.
b) Division File - Any file which is separately maintai ned internally by an employee’s
supervisor(s) within an assigned division for the purpose of completing timely performance
evaluations.
c) Training File - Any file which documents the training records of an employee.
d) Administrative Investigations Files – Files which contain complaints of employee
misconduct and all materials relating to the investigation into such allegations, regardless
of disposition.
e) Medical File - That file which is maintained separately that exclusively contains material
relating to an e mployee’s medical history.
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW NEXT REVIEW
2 01/24/2011 06/01/201 9 06/01/20 20
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
______________________________
1026 - Peace Officer Personnel Files 2 f) Background Investigations Files – Files which contain personal history needed to
assess candidates for positions with the organization.
1026.4 CONFIDENTIALITY OF ALL PERSONNEL FILES
Pursuant to Penal Code § 832.7, all of the a bove defined personnel records shall be deemed
confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure except pursuant to the discovery procedures
set forth in Evidence Code § 1043, et seq. or in accordance with applicable federal discovery
laws. Nothing in th is section is intended to preclude review of personnel files by the City Manager,
City Attorney or other attorneys or representatives of the City in connection with official business.
1026.5 REQUESTS FOR DISCLOSURE
Only written requests for the disclosu re of any information contained in any peace officer
personnel record will be considered. Since the format of such requests may be strictly governed
by law with specific responses required, all such requests shall be promptly brought to the
attention of th e Professional Standards Division Commander or his/her designee .
Upon receipt of any such request, the Professional Standards Division C ommander or his/her
designee shall notify the affected employee(s) immediately that such a request has been made
(Evidence Code § 1043(a)).
The responsible person shall further ensure that an appropriate response to the request is m ade
in a timely manner, consistent with applicable law. In many cases, this will require assistance of
approved and available legal counsel.
All requests for disclosure, which result in access to an employee’s personnel file(s), shall be
logged in the cor responding file.
1026.5.1 RELEASE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Except as provided by this policy or pursuant to lawful process, no information contained in any
confidential peace officer personnel file shall be disclosed to any unauthorized person(s) wit hout
the expressed prior consent of the involved officer or written authorization of the Chief of Police or
his or her designee.
Any person who maliciously, and with the intent to obstruct justice or the due administration of the
laws; publishes, dissemin ates, or otherwise discloses the residence address or telephone number
of any member of this department , may be guilty of a misdemeanor (Penal Code § 146(e))
Pursuant to Penal Code § 832.7(e), the disposition of any citizen’s complaint shall be released to
the complaining party within 30 days of the final disposition. This release shall be limited to the
disposition and shall not include what discipline, if any was imposed.
The Department may also release any factual information concerning a disciplinar y investigation
if the officer who is the subject