Complaints Against Cops In California Drop To Lowest Level Since 1990
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Amid increasing national scrutiny over shootings of unarmed minorities by police, citizen complaints about police are at a 25-year low in California.
Analysts and officials credit several factors, including better training, a lower crime rate, heightened sensitivity by officers and seemingly ever-present cameras to record police contact with citizens.
A report released Wednesday by the state attorney general shows fewer than 15,700 complaints last year. That's down from a high of more than 24,000 complaints in 2007 and down from an average of nearly 19,900 annual complaints since 1990.
Most of the complaints allege non-criminal behavior.
Fewer than 1,300 complaints were deemed valid by investigators, including 109 involving criminal conduct.
About a third of complaints are from inmates in prisons and jails.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
