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By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

The California Assembly passed a bill Monday that seeks to implement a statewide race-blind charging system already underway in Yolo County.

Assembly Bill 2778, sponsored by Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, passed through the Assembly floor with a unanimous 72-0 vote, according to a DA news release.

Authored by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, AB 2778 requires the California Department of Justice to establish a race-blind charging system for adoption by all state prosecutors by January 2025.

“Specifically, the process would require removal of all race data from police reports for any suspect, victim or witness when a case is initially reviewed for charging,” the news release said.

AB 2778 models a program the Yolo County DA’s Office unveiled in September 2021 in cooperation with the Stanford Computational Policy Lab, which designed computer technology that automatically redacts police-report details that could identify an individual’s race.

The program works like this:

Prosecutors start out by reviewing the redacted police report. Previously, one might read this way: “Lucy Johnson reported that a Black male with brown hair, wearing a black jacket, assaulted her in Midtown, next to Johnson’s home. She reported the incident to Officer Lee.”

Under Stanford’s raceredaction algorithm, the revised report looks like this: “(Victim 1) reported that a (race) male with (hair color), wearing a black jacket, assaulted her in (neighborhood), next to (Victim 1’s) home. She reported the incident to Officer Lee.”

After reading the scrubbed report, the prosecutor answers several questions prompted by the computer program. The first rates the narrative as “good” or “bad,” indicating whether it contained unredacted words that identified race. If it’s deemed bad, the prosecutor must explain why.

From there, the prosecutor indicates how likely they are to charge the case — very likely, likely, unlikely or very unlikely. Finally, the prosecutor reviews the unredacted report and determines whether to modify the charging decision. If so, they again must explain why.

Reisig said he explored implementing the program after hearing concerns from the Multi-Cultural Community Council, a citizens’ advisory board to the DA’s Office focused on diversity and equal justice, which requested policies and measures ensuring that a person’s skin color did not affect the fairness of the criminal-justice process.

In January, Reisig met with Bonta to seek legislation that would take the program statewide.

“The partnership between my office, the Attorney General, District Attorneys’ offices across the state, and the Stanford Computation Lab has been amazing,” Reisig said. “I am proud of the state of California for being a trailblazer on this issue.”

Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo

Antique beer cans line the wall near the ceiling of the dining room of the former de Vere’s Irish pub. A yet-to-be-named restaurant will open this fall, run by the owners of Fanny Ann’s Saloon in Old Sacramento and Madison Bear Garden in Chico.

COMINGS: Even more news to report below

From Page A5

Owners Gregg Harrington and Tim Beeman are not returning my calls and emails.

I drove to the site on Wednesday, and it doesn’t appear that much work has been done. Last I heard, they were working on permits. The concept is for a gathering place with games, outdoor fun, and a wide selection of local beer. They originally hoped to open in June but that doesn’t look achievable. ————

Believe it or not, I have even more news to report, but not enough space here. Look for details next weekend on the impressive new virtual reality escape room opened by Davis Cards & Games, info about The Davis Enterprise’s move next door, and more. ————

I have a Google spreadsheet that keeps track of more than 325 Davis businesses that are open, closed or coming soon. It’s at https://bit.ly/ DavisBusinesses. — Wendy Weitzel is a Davis writer and editor. Her column runs on Sundays. Check for frequent updates on her Comings & Goings Facebook and Instagram pages. If you know of a business coming or going in the area, contact her at wendyedit@ gmail.com.