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POST says majority of open complaints are agency-level findings; staff triaging 13,000+ open reports
Summary
POST's Professional Conduct Bureau told the advisory committee it has roughly 13,312 cases open with POST as of the Feb. 10 agenda cutoff, and that about 9,000 of those are finalized agency investigations (not sustained, unfounded or exonerated) moved from an unassigned queue to cases so POST can formally close them.
At the POST advisory committee meeting March 4, 2025, the Professional Conduct Bureau described a large backlog of complaints, an intake triage process, and a recent shift to abbreviated reviews for lower-priority closed agency investigations.
Bureau Chief Robert Guyton and other Professional Conduct staff told the committee public complaints received directly by POST have tripled since POST began accepting them, and the bureau has a combined caseload that is straining staff capacity. “We have a total of 1,712 public complaints,” Guyton said, and he added there were 13,312 cases open with POST as of the Feb. 10 agenda publication. When asked how many of those were not being actively investigated, Guyton and other bureau staff explained about 9,000 of the 13,000 had agency final findings of not sustained, unfounded or exonerated and were moved out of an unassigned queue to a cases queue so POST could begin abbreviated reviews.
POST said it is triaging reports by priority. Sustained-agency findings that indicate a risk of serious misconduct (so-called p1 or priority 1 cases) receive full POST investigations; they typically average 120–160 days for POST’s full investigation depending on complexity. For lower-priority cases (not sustained, exonerated, unfounded), the bureau is now performing “abbreviated reviews” that assess agency findings and evidence rather than performing full-length POST investigations in every instance. The agency described safeguards: bureau staff may pull any closed agency case for full review if there are signs of concern, multiple complaints against the same officer, use-of-force or body-worn-camera issues, or evidence that an agency’s investigation was incomplete.
Advisory members pressed staff on resource strain and anonymous complaints. Sheriff respondents and other committee members urged POST to consider process changes because anonymous complaints frequently lack contact information and substantive detail; POST intake staff said they do contact complaining parties when possible and explain anonymity limits, but acknowledged incomplete submissions create extra workload for both agencies and POST.
POST also described its immediate temporary suspension (ITS) process (typically used when an officer has been arrested, indicted, terminated for serious misconduct, or resigned in lieu of termination) and said ITS counts for 2024 totaled 67 with 37 removed for reasons such as lost jurisdiction or additional documentation.
The presentation was informational; staff described staffing needs (roughly 20 vacant law enforcement consultant positions on the POST side) and ongoing efforts to prioritize high-risk matters.
