Professional Standards Division

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The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office is committed to transparency and accountability, particularly during critical incidents that significantly impact public confidence. California law, through the California Public Records Act (CPRA), generally requires public records to be available for inspection and promptly provided upon request. While records related to law enforcement investigations are largely exempt to protect the integrity of those investigations, the law also mandates the disclosure of specified information unless doing so would compromise public safety or the successful completion of an investigation.

Assembly Bill 748 amended Government Code section 6254 to further balance the public’s right to know with the need to preserve investigative integrity and protect individual privacy. Effective July 1, 2019, AB 748 permits law enforcement agencies to temporarily withhold audio or video recordings related to a defined critical incident for up to 45 calendar days if release would substantially interfere with an active investigation. Extensions may be granted when justified under the statute.

The law also recognizes the importance of privacy. A recording may be withheld or redacted when the public interest in nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in release, particularly where disclosure would violate the reasonable expectation of privacy of an individual depicted in the recording. When redaction cannot adequately protect those privacy interests, the Sheriff’s Office is required to promptly provide the recording to the involved subject, or to their parent, guardian, representative, or, if deceased, to their immediate family member, heir, beneficiary, or authorized legal representative.

• Under AB 748, a recording is considered related to a critical incident if it depicts either:
  the discharge of a firearm at a person by a peace officer or custodial officer; or
  an incident in which a peace officer’s or custodial officer’s use of force results in death or great bodily injury.

Through adherence to these statutory requirements, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office seeks to promote transparency, foster public trust, and ensure the community is informed while safeguarding investigative integrity, individual privacy, and the fair administration of justice—especially during critical and high-impact incidents.

Click here to read the full bill text for AB 748.

Click here to view the December 16th, 2025 OIS.

The Background Investigators are responsible for completing background investigations on all Sheriff’s Office personnel. This includes safety personnel, professional staff, temporary staff and volunteers. The background investigation process can be quite lengthy, especially for sworn personnel, who by Government Code Standards must be deemed “of good moral character” to hold a law enforcement position in California. Investigators thoroughly check an applicant’s history by conducting interviews, making home visits and reviewing records from several sources. During this process, they may potentially make contact with references, former employers, schools, and local law enforcement agencies as well as research court records. Every effort is put forth to thoroughly screen all qualified applicants and hire only those who meet Sheriff’s Office standards.

This page lists instructions to view Monterey County's POST Trainings.

Visit: opendata.post.ca.gov.

In the "Presenter Name" field enter "MONTEREY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE".

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The Internal Affairs Unit is responsible for conducting internal investigations, prompted either by citizen complaints or by internal concerns. Two Sheriff’s Sergeants are assigned to conduct Internal Investigations. This Unit also handles Public Records requests and is the custodian of records. This Unit works closely with the Office of County Counsel and also reviews civil matters involving claims and litigation.

The Training Unit is tasked with the responsibility of providing mandated training for all personnel who work for the Sheriff. In addition to ensuring that mandated training is received the unit is tasked with maintaining necessary equipment.

Much of the training deputies attend is mandated by Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). POST requires that all deputies attend a minimum of 24 hours of advanced training bi-annually. Of these 24 hours 12 hours must consist of perishable skills training that includes Arrest and Control, Driver Training and Awareness and Tactical Firearms. Additionally, 2 hours of Tactical Communications training is required. It is the Sheriff’s policy that once a new deputy completes his/her Field Training that they be sent to an advanced officer safety school.

Standards and Training in Corrections (STC) is the unit within the State Board of Corrections that mandates the training received by deputies assigned to the Custody Bureau. STC requires that deputies receive 24 hours of training annually. Because all sheriff’s deputies are Peace Officers, much of the training COB deputies receive through STC is also recognized by POST. This ensures that all our personnel meet the standards under the Continuous Professional Training guidelines.

In addition to the above training, many assignments require additional training that must be completed within certain time parameters. Such assignments could be promotions to sergeant and commander. Additional assignments requiring advanced training are Field Training Officer and Detectives assigned to investigate crimes against children.

The Training Unit also works in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Professional Staff who are not safety personnel, but whose contribution to the overall operation of the Office cannot be overlooked. Much of what Professional Staff personnel deal with is the maintenance and release of public records. Because this area is ever changing, as is the manner of entering data into the many federal and state databases, ongoing training is needed in these core areas of law enforcement.