San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that her office has created an app that provides key cultural knowledge about San Diego County’s various, diverse communities to help law enforcement officers respond respectfully during non-emergency situations. [TWEET THIS]

The Cultural Awareness Project (CAP App) was developed under the guidance of the DA’s Interfaith Advisory Board, which conducted focus groups with various community representatives to inform its content. The app provides information on cultural norms across 11 communities including African-American youth, Mexican/Mexican-American, Asian, Vietnamese, East African/Somali, East African/Somali Youth, Muslim, Samoan, Native American and more. For example, the app provides easy-to-read information on a group’s traditions and beliefs, greetings, what to expect when visiting households, and what the group’s historical experiences with law enforcement are.

“San Diego County is home to a variety of races, ethnicities, religions and cultural backgrounds,” DA Summer Stephan Said. “Building law enforcement’s understanding of our diverse communities helps to improve respectful and culturally competent communication. This new and innovative app has great promise to help advance trust between police and the communities they serve because it is a tool built by the community from the ground up. I want to thank the members of our DA Interfaith Advisory Board for devoting months of time gathering the pertinent information and making this app a reality.”

The San Diego Police Chiefs’ and Sheriff’s Association also embraced the app.

“Developing cultural competencies is an important part of modern policing,” Chief David Nisleit, said. “I want to thank all of the community groups for their collaboration on this project.”

The District Attorney’s Interfaith Advisory Board was formed over a decade ago as a way of maintaining an open dialogue between the DA’s Office and the various communities throughout San Diego County. Each month, leaders from a variety of religious organizations meet at the DA’s CARE Center where they voice community concerns and work on solution-oriented initiatives to address the needs they identify as public safety issues. The Board has and will continue to provide cultural insight to law enforcement officials in non-emergency situations.

“Whenever there’s a job to do, you must have the right tools to accomplish the job,” said Dr. Gerald L. Johnson, Chairman of United African American Ministerial Action Council and member of the DA’s Interfaith Advisory Board. “All jobs are important, especially those of our professionals who are sworn to public safety. We will witness the importance of the CAP App as the testimonies are documented from the community and professionals alike sharing the same tool.”

Members of the Interfaith Advisory Board worked on the CAP App since the idea was conceived.

“It’s very important to have our local law enforcement officers equipped with the accurate information on the communities they serve and protect,” said Imam Taha Hassane, Director of the Islamic Center of San Diego and a member of the DA’s Interfaith Advisory Board.

Each of the 11 communities has four categories of information, and each category provides culturally based knowledge to guide interactions with members of that community:

Traditions and Beliefs

Every community shares different cultural/ethnic/religious traditions or beliefs of which law enforcement needs to be aware of to have effective encounters.

Greetings

This category reflects the appropriate manner of greeting in different cultures, including demeanor, non-verbal, body space, handshake, bow, male-female interaction, etc.

Visiting Households

The information provided under this category helps officers identify who is considered the head of the household in each culture and who should be addressed or acknowledged first.

Experiences with Law Enforcement

This section includes shared views, perceptions and past experiences with law enforcement in different cultures that reflect certain behaviors upon contact with the officers.

The app is intended to help prepare law enforcement before encountering a member of the public from a different culture in a non-emergency situation. It is an easy and quick tool to navigate, before an interaction in the field, especially when conducting home visits. The app will also be helpful as a debriefing resource when an encounter has not gone well.

The CAP app is free and available and ready to download in the Apple and Android app stores under “Cultural Awareness Project.” The app does not have access to a user’s camera or contacts. [TWEET THIS]

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that a parole hearing will occur tomorrow for Mark “Gator” Rogowski, 54, who was convicted of rape and murder in 1992. Rogowski is serving a sentence of 31 years-to-life for the murder of Jessica Bergsten.

Rogowski was a nationally known skateboard personality from Carlsbad who rose to prominence in the 1980s. On March 21, 1991, he raped and murdered 22-year old Jessica Bergsten and transported her body to a remote desert area, where her skeletal remains were found several weeks later.

The skater had previously been denied parole in 2011 and 2016 but was granted parole on his third try in December 2019, when a panel of parole hearing officers found that he was suitable for release. Governor Newsom disagreed and reversed the decision in April 2020. He is currently incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, where the hearing will be held.

“The family and friends of Jessica Bergsten deserve the continued promise of justice in this case,” DA Summer Stephan said. “Our office has a responsibility to argue strongly against releasing this violent defendant. We handle hundreds of parole hearings each year, doing our best when it’s appropriate to make sure dangerous criminals are not released and crime victims are given a voice.”

At the time of the murder, Rogowski’s girlfriend had broken up with him. In addition, skateboarding was changing from ramps to the street. Rogowski did not think he could do well on street skating and saw his lucrative career coming to an end. He was also upset over his relationship with Bergsten coming to an end. Rogowski hit Bergsten on the head with The Club (a steering wheel locking device), raped her and suffocated her in a surfboard bag. He confessed to the crime several weeks later.

Deputy District Attorney John Cross will appear on behalf of the People at tomorrow’s hearing to argue that Rogowski remains an unreasonable risk of danger to society. One of the victim’s family members will also attend the hearing and is expected to provide a victim impact statement regarding the effects of the crime upon their family and the unsuitability of the inmate for parole.

The hearing will take place tomorrow, May 27 at 10:30 a.m. in a closed session that is not accessible to the public.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that her office has been recognized with an Achievement Award for its new Workplace Justice Unit, from the National Association of Counties (NACo). The awards honor innovative, effective county government programs that strengthen services for residents. [TWEET THIS]

In February, the District Attorney’s Office launched its Workplace Justice Unit, which is dedicated to protecting workers’ rights, prosecuting criminal wage theft cases and stopping labor trafficking. In launching the unit, DA Stephan took into consideration community response and hosted a workplace justice panel in partnership with San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, to identify ways to better-protect workers across the county, many of whom come from minority and disadvantaged communities.

“We accept this national award on behalf of all workers and those who advocate on their behalf. We appreciate the advocates who have trusted our DA Workplace Justice team with the labor abuses committed on workers,” DA Summer Stephan said. “Wage theft and labor trafficking are serious problems that we are working to contain in partnership with the community. We’re not going to allow workers in San Diego County to be exploited by greedy employers who break the law to line their own pockets and this award confirms we are on the right track.”

The DA’s new Workplace Justice Unit is comprised of a dedicated prosecutor, DA investigator and paralegal. The Unit prosecutes unfair business practices, wage and hour violations, payroll tax evasion, wage theft and labor trafficking cases. As part of the formation of the Unit, the DA’s Insurance Fraud Division was re-named the Insurance Fraud and Workplace Justice Division.

To more effectively protect workers and seek equitable workplace justice, the DA’s Office is educating the public on worker rights through a wallet or palm card in English and Spanish and has created a public web page where anyone can obtain information about workplace justice and where victims of workplace crimes can report directly to the District Attorney’s Office. In addition, workers can also email or call the workplace justice hotline to make a report or report claims directly on the DA’s website.

NACo President Gary Moore said, “Over the past year, county officials and frontline employees have demonstrated bold, inspirational leadership. This year’s Achievement Award winning programs illustrate the innovative ways counties build healthy, safe and vibrant communities across America.”

Nationally, awards are given in 18 different categories that reflect the vast, comprehensive services counties provide. The categories include children and youth, criminal justice and public safety, county administration, information technology, health, civic engagement and many more.

Started in 1970, NACo’s annual Achievement Awards program is designed to recognize county government innovations. Each nominee is judged on its own merits and not against other applications received. [TWEET THIS]

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan today announced an ambitious new juvenile justice reform initiative designed to keep juveniles out of the criminal justice system while addressing the underlying cause of harmful behavior. The Juvenile Diversion Initiative (JDI) is a countywide early intervention program that prioritizes diversion options for youth instead of filing criminal charges. The goal is to reduce the number of youth who enter the juvenile justice system, engage the community and stakeholders in the youth’s rehabilitation, and address the causes of the their unsafe behavior while at the same time fostering accountability to crime victims and community. [TWEET THIS]

Once in the diversion program, youth will participate with their family or caregiver and have access to services they may need that will help address contributing factors to their harmful behavior. Youth who successfully complete the program will leave with an understanding of the impact of their choices and will avoid permanent and negative outcomes related to the formal criminal justice system, including stigma, labeling and having a criminal record.

“The DA Juvenile Diversion Initiative is a leap forward in dismantling the school to prison pipeline and providing youth across our county a bridge to leading a healthy life, away from the criminal justice system,” said DA Summer Stephan. “If we can redirect juveniles from the very start, it spares them the negative effects of having a criminal record and gives them a better chance at success in the future. Providing them with culturally competent and restorative resources that address the root causes of the criminal behavior in the communities in which they live support the best outcome for our youth.”

For the first time, this new initiative will offer youth facing a misdemeanor or felony charge the option to participate in diversion before charges are filed as an alternative to prosecution and to avoid future negative outcomes associated with formal proceedings. An additional benefit of the diversion program is the anticipated reduction in formal court proceedings, which will free up limited resources and services for high-risk youth in need of more intensive rehabilitative services.

The DA’s Juvenile Diversion Initiative program is scheduled to begin this summer and will be available for youth between 12 and 18 years of age who commit non-serious offenses not covered under 707(b) of the California Welfare and Institutions Code. The program provides comprehensive therapeutic services, pro-social skill building opportunities, educational support as well as restorative justice community conferencing to ensure participants are supported and the needs of victims are addressed. Participation is a voluntary process, and upon completion the diverted youth will have the opportunity to have their arrest record sealed.

The District Attorney’s Office will work closely with the National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC) to implement and administer the JDI program including subcontracting for intervention services with community providers and the private sector. The organization will collaborate with the community for ongoing support for youth by embedding restorative justice principles in community engagement and participation. NCRC will also provide restorative support to victims as part of the development of each participant’s case plan.

“We are grateful to the county for giving NCRC the opportunity to collaborate with the DA’s office to change the course of high-risk youth in our community through this innovative program,” said Steven Dinkin, president of the National Conflict Resolution Center. “Our team is uniquely qualified to administer the JDI program as NCRC has been at the forefront of restorative justice practices in the San Diego community for over a decade helping to provide alternative methods to conflict resolution rather than detention or incarceration.”

[Click here if you’re a community-based organization with services you believe might fit with the Juvenile Diversion Initiative.]

The DA’s Juvenile Division files an average of 1,900 criminal cases each year. It’s estimated that about 500 juveniles will be offered the opportunity to participate in the Juvenile Diversion Initiative annually.

Research shows a majority of youth who are arrested and charged with delinquent behavior do not become repeat offenders. Given this data, the DA’s Juvenile Diversion Initiative is designed to reduce the risk of criminal socialization by providing positive social interactions, instilling discipline, improving school engagement, and addressing the underlying causes of such behavior.

Over the past five years, the number of people in juvenile detention has been reduced without increasing crime thanks to a partnership with the Probation Department, Public Defender, law enforcement and the San Diego Superior Court. In 2015, there were 450 minors in juvenile detention and today there are less than 160, most of whom have committed a violent or serious offense. [TWEET THIS]

The District Attorney’s work in juvenile justice reform includes improved options for reporting student abuse or trauma in the home or at school, an increased focus on preventing school shootings and a human trafficking curriculum provided to schools.

Read more about juvenile justice-related reforms here.