California Attorney General Rob Bonta Appoints Catalyst California's Chauncee Smith to Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board

Media Contact:
Ronald Simms Jr, Associate Director of Communications
(202)-270-0936 or rsimms@catalystcalifornia.org

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – Today, Catalyst California is delighted to announce that California Attorney General Rob Bonta appointed Chauncee Smith, Associate Director of Reimagine Justice & Safety, to the state Department of Justice’s Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board. This appointment comes in the wake of the Board’s seventh annual report highlighting racial biases in California’s law enforcement activities and offering recommendations to ensure that communities of color are treated equitably.

“I am honored to serve alongside Chauncee, who has been a longtime advocate for embedding equity across our government and addressing systemic racism in California,” said Dr. John Dobard, Vice President of Policy and Programs at Catalyst California and a member of the RIPA Board. “Chauncee' s appointment brings invaluable expertise to the RIPA Board that will help serve the goal of eliminating racial and identity profiling and improving diversity and racial and identity sensitivity in law enforcement.”

Established in 2016, the RIPA Board collaborates with community stakeholders, law enforcement agencies, and academic researchers to eliminate racial and identity profiling by law enforcement in California. They do this by analyzing stop data and civilian complaint data, reviewing law enforcement training related to racial and identify profiling, and issuing policy recommendations through an annual report.  The 19-member board is made up of community advocates, spiritual leaders, academics, attorneys, and law enforcement.

Chauncee is the former President of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s Task Force on Non-Law Enforcement Alternatives to Traffic Safety. He also served as a member of the Public Safety Advisory Committee of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Prior to joining Catalyst California, Chauncee partnered with community-based organizations on campaigns to pass numerous public safety measures, including California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015 (AB 953) and AB 71 (2015) – which established a statewide system for collecting and reporting data on law enforcement uses of force.

“We must reimagine a system where justice is equitable and where communities of color are not subject to disproportionate harms stemming from biased local and state law enforcement,” said Chauncee Smith. “I look forward to working with fellow RIPA board members to address these issues and ensure that all Californians can thrive."

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Catalyst California (formerly Advancement Project California) advocates for racial justice by building power and transforming public systems. We partner with communities of color, conduct innovative research, develop policies for actionable change, and shift money and power back into our communities.