No Secret Police: A Public Records Database
New database allows the public to identify Santa Ana Police Department officers using public records. More agencies' records are being processed for the database.
No Secret Police (NSP) is a public records database created to bring transparency to police agencies in California. It currently hosts only the Santa Ana Police Department’s (SAPD) records, however more agencies’ records are being processed for this evergreen project. The database is a tool for the public to identify and learn about police officers in their city. It shows: names, badge numbers, headshot photographs, division, rank and how many taxpayer dollars are budgeted for each individual. All of the information is public record and is sourced through public records requests or lawsuits enforcing public records requests.
NSP gives the public access to data about the individual officers without depending the police department for information.While this type of information — basic public data — is often obfuscated by police departments or officers themselves to avoid accountability, NSP aims to be a central repository for these records.
This is not the first database of its kind. In 2023, the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition published the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) headshot photographs and other basic public information on their database after the journalist behind Inadvertent initially shared the photographs with the coalition. More information on that can be found on NSP’s “About” page.
Too often there are incidents where police refuse to identify, improperly cover their badges or lie to the public about who they are or what they are doing. NSP is a response to this culture of secrecy that exists within police departments. The culture is pervasive across state, local and national politics. Currently, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS) is appealing a recent court ruling where a judge determined that the public has a right to photos of LA deputy sheriffs. ALADS also pushed for AB 1178, which, prior to being amended, sought to make photos of certain police officers confidential.
Several other agencies are attempting to withhold their identities despite state law and case law being clear: cops are public employees, not secret police.
If you want to see your local police department on this transparency database, please reach out.
The database link is here: https://www.nosecretpolice.net
Donate to keep the database updated & maintained, it is a people-funded transparency project: https://ko-fi.com/inadvertent