Sheriff Gore will be out of the county for the remainder of the week.
The San Diego Sheriff's Department feels a person's right to privacy is important and takes any
misuse of the CLETS (California Law Enforcement Telecommunication System) system or our
department report writing system seriously. To ensure this, we monitor criminal history inquires
within the department and conduct Internal Affair investigations when a possible misuse is
identified.
Both the California Department of Justice (CAL DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) conduct CLETS criminal history audits on the Sheriff's Department. Audits by the CAL
DOJ are conducted every two years. They also do a field audit to evaluate our physical
security, policies and practices when using CLETS to ensure the department is in compliance.
FBI audits are conducted every one to three years.
Every new employee is required to attend CAL DOJ CLETS training and sign a Confidential
Admonishment form which explains the requirements for using CLETS properly and the
ramifications for not doing so. Every two years, refresher training is required to be completed by
employees who have CLETS access. This includes the reading and signing of a new
Confidential Admonishment form.
The Sheriff's CLETS Coordinator periodically sends out department wide refresher notices.
Employees that have access to our report writing system are expected to follow the policy and
procedures in regards to accessing and information. We have security measures in place to
limit access to sensitive or high profile cases. A locking filter limits access to the detective
assigned and/or the units involved in the investigation. If it is believed an employee has
accessed information on the reporting writing system in violation of these policies and
procedures, our Internal Affairs Unit will conduct an investigation.
We have policy and procedure sections that outline the proper use of computerized
informational sources. Two sections that directly address this, P&P sections 6.24 and 7.6, can
be found online on the Sheriff's website:​ www.sdsheriff.net​. I have also attached a copy to this
email for your reference.
When employees are found to be in violation of policy and procedure regarding the access of
computerized information, they are held accountable as was the case you referred to in your
inquiry.
Justin White, Lieutenant
Media Relations Director
San Diego County Sheriff's Department