Law Enforcement

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department maintains a computer system that can track about 1,500 Los Angeles street gangs and their members. More than 130 law enforcement agencies across the country can access this system. While most of the controls and safeguards for the computer system appear adequate, requests for gang member information by off-line law enforcement agencies typically go unrecorded by officers responding to the requests. GAO believes that recording such requests would provide an audit trail for information disseminated and information that could be accessed to track the movement of gangs nationwide. In addition, the computer system has never been audited to see if adequate controls are in place and are being followed. GAO believes that independent audits are essential for establishing and maintaining the system's integrity. Finally, although most of the computer system records GAO has reviewed do not show what criteria were used to establish gang membership, the system's new software now requires the creation of records explaining such criteria. This requirement should enhance the accountability for creating records and should be an integral part of any national system, such as those proposed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.