Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Program - - CA Health And Safety

Section § 11640

This law talks about the rise of secret drug labs that make illegal drugs using dangerous chemicals. These labs are often hidden in rural areas and are hard to catch, posing serious risks of fire, explosions, and poisoning to the public. The drugs they make, like certain forms of fentanyl and meth, are very hard to detect and have caused many deaths and injuries.

Local police often don't have the right tools or training to handle this issue effectively. To combat this, the law aims to provide more funding and support for law enforcement so they can better investigate and shut down these labs. It also seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers these labs and their products pose.

The Legislature finds and declares that there has been a recent and rapid expansion in clandestine laboratories illegally producing a variety of controlled substances. These are increasingly sophisticated operations, frequently located in rural areas or working across jurisdictional lines, which pose substantial dangers to the general public from fire, explosion, and the toxic chemicals involved. The controlled substances these laboratories produce, such as analogs of fentanyl, phencyclidine, and methamphetamine, are extremely difficult to detect and analyze and have caused numerous deaths and serious injuries to those who use them.

The Legislature further finds and declares that, given the number and nature of clandestine laboratories, local law enforcement officials in most jurisdictions lack the training, specialized equipment, and resources to adequately enforce existing law. As a result, the public is increasingly endangered by the laboratories themselves while the controlled substances they produce pose a grave danger to those who use them.

It is the intent of the Legislature in establishing the Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Program to provide increased funding for special training, equipment, personnel, and financial assistance to state and local law enforcement officials targeted on the investigation and prosecution of clandestine laboratories. The program shall also increase public awareness of the problems posed by clandestine laboratories and the products they produce.

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(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 1029, Sec. 1.)

Section § 11641

This law requires the California Department of Justice to create a program that helps state and local police and prosecutors catch and charge people who are illegally making drugs.

The Department of Justice shall establish a Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Program to assist state and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies in apprehending and prosecuting persons involved in the unlawful manufacture of controlled substances.

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(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 1029, Sec. 1.)

Section § 11642

This law allows California's Controller to reimburse smaller counties (those with populations under 1,750,000) for specific law enforcement costs, as long as funds are available. For prosecuting certain drug-related offenses, counties can receive up to $25,000 per case, but they can't use this money to replace local funding. The funds must only be used by the prosecuting agency. Similarly, for law enforcement personnel expenses related to investigating the same offenses, counties can get up to $10,000 per case. Again, these funds shouldn't replace any local financial resources and must be exclusively used by law enforcement agencies.

The statute also provides reimbursement for costs related to handling toxic waste from illegal drug labs, under specific procedures. Local health officers must be notified quickly when such labs are seized, and they are required to assess any immediate health risks or inform the State Department of Health Services as needed. Additionally, cities within these counties are included in the definition of 'counties' for this purpose. Emergency regulations can be set by the Department of Justice to implement this law.

(a) To the extent moneys are available therefor, the Controller, in accordance with criteria and procedures which shall be adopted by the Department of Justice, may reimburse counties with a population under 1,750,000 for costs of prosecuting violations, attempts to violate, or conspiracies to violate Section 11100, 11100.1, 11104, 11105, 11379.6, or 11383 initiated after January 1, 1987. Funding under this subdivision shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each prosecution or joint prosecution assisted. All funds allocated to a county under this subdivision shall be distributed by it only to its prosecutorial agency, to be used solely for investigation and prosecution of these offenses. Funds distributed under this subdivision shall not be used to supplant any local funds that would, in the absence of this subdivision, be made available to support the prosecutorial efforts of counties.

Cases wholly financed or reimbursed under any other state or federal program including, but not limited to, the Asset Forfeiture Program (Section 11489), the Major Narcotic Vendors Prosecution Law (Section 13881 of the Penal Code), or the California Career Criminal Apprehension Program (Section 13851 of the Penal Code), shall not be entitled to reimbursement under this subdivision.

(b) To the extent moneys are available therefor, the Controller, in accordance with criteria and procedures which shall be adopted by the Department of Justice, may reimburse counties with a population under 1,750,000 for law enforcement personnel expenses, not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per case, incurred in the investigation of violations, attempts to violate, or conspiracies to violate Section 11100, 11100.1, 11104, 11105, 11379.6, or 11383 initiated after January 1, 1987. All funds allocated to a county under this subdivision shall be distributed by it only to its law enforcement agency to be used solely for investigation and detection of these offenses. Funds distributed under this subdivision shall not be used to supplant any local funds that would, in the absence of this subdivision, be made available to support the law enforcement efforts of counties. Cases financed or reimbursed under any other state or federal program, including, but not limited to, the Asset Forfeiture Program, (Section 11489), the California Career Criminal Apprehension Program (Section 13851 of the Penal Code), or the federal Asset Forfeiture Program (21 U.S.C. Sec. 881), shall not be entitled to reimbursement under this subdivision.

(c)

(1) To the extent moneys are available therefor, the Controller, in accordance with criteria and procedures which shall be adopted by the Department of Justice, may reimburse counties with a population under 1,750,000 for costs incurred by, or at the direction of, state or local law enforcement agencies to remove and dispose of or store toxic waste from the sites of laboratories used for the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance.

(2) The local law enforcement agency or Department of Justice shall notify the local health officer within 24 hours of the seizure of a laboratory used for the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance. The local health officer shall either:

(A) Make a determination as to whether the site poses an immediate threat to public health and safety, and if so, shall undertake immediate corrective action.

(B) Notify the State Department of Health Services.

As used in this section, “counties” includes any city within a county with a population of less than 1,750,000.

The Department of Justice may adopt emergency regulations consistent with this section and the Administrative Procedure Act.

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(Amended by Stats. 1991, Ch. 929, Sec. 1.)

Section § 11643

This law mandates that, as long as there is funding, the Department of Justice must take several steps to address the problem of illegal drug labs. First, they should work with law enforcement to provide advanced training on detecting chemicals and safely handling them. Second, they should provide safety gear to local law enforcement as needed during investigations. Finally, they need to set up special teams to investigate these illegal labs, focusing on those operating in multiple areas, and these teams should include experts such as special agents, criminalists, auditors, and analysts to handle various aspects of the investigations.

To the extent moneys are available therefor, the Department of Justice shall do the following:

(a) In cooperation with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training provide advanced training to state and local law enforcement personnel on the unique skills, such as detection and identification of chemical substances, and safety precautions, such as safe handling, storage, and disposal of toxic substances, necessary to investigate clandestine laboratories illegally manufacturing controlled substances.

(b) Make safety equipment, such as protective clothing and breathing apparatus, available to local law enforcement officials, as needed, on a case-by-case basis in connection with investigation and abatement of laboratories illegally manufacturing controlled substances.

(c) Establish enhanced enforcement teams assigned to the investigation of clandestine laboratories illegally manufacturing controlled substances, particularly targeting cabals operating in multiple local jurisdictions. These teams shall include special agents trained in investigating clandestine laboratories, criminalists to analyze the chemicals involved, auditors to conduct financial investigations and initiate forfeiture proceedings pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 11470) where warranted, and analysts to monitor the overall pattern and network of these clandestine laboratories across the state, to develop further cases, and to target law enforcement efforts where needed.

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(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 867, Sec. 11. (SB 1144) Effective January 1, 2013.)

Section § 11644

This law requires the Crime Prevention Center within the Department of Justice to create and share information about the risks associated with hidden drug labs and the substances they produce, like fentanyl analogs and methamphetamines. The aim is to educate the public on health hazards, how to spot and report these labs, and the effects of synthetic drugs.

To the extent moneys are available therefor, the Crime Prevention Center of the Department of Justice shall prepare and disseminate informational materials on the unique dangers posed by clandestine laboratories and the controlled substances they produce. The Crime Prevention Center shall increase public awareness in areas such as the health dangers created by the laboratories themselves, including how to identify and report them, and the unusual effects and dangers of synthetic substances such as analogs of fentanyl, MPPP, phencyclidine, and methamphetamines.

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(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 1029, Sec. 1.)

Section § 11646

The Attorney General is responsible for creating rules and regulations to carry out and enforce the guidelines in this chapter.

The Attorney General shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration and enforcement of this chapter.

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(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 1029, Sec. 1.)

Section § 11647

This law creates the Crank-Up Task Force Program within the Department of Justice. It is part of the Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Program and focuses on investigating, seizing, and cleaning up methamphetamine labs.

The program involves state and local law enforcement agencies, with the Department of Justice coordinating efforts and working alongside federal agencies when possible. They will provide support, including staffing, intelligence, forensic analysis, and funding.

Local agencies involved in the task forces will be reimbursed for overtime costs and necessary equipment or supplies.

(a) The Crank-Up Task Force Program is hereby created within the Department of Justice as part of the Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Program with responsibility for establishing, conducting, supporting, and coordinating crank-up task forces composed of state and local law enforcement agencies targeting the investigation, seizure, and cleanup of clandestine laboratories used to manufacture methamphetamine.

(b) The department shall coordinate all investigations undertaken by task forces operating under the Crank-Up Task Force Program with all local agencies having law enforcement responsibilities within the jurisdictions involved. The department also shall solicit participation by appropriate federal agencies with task force investigations whenever possible.

The department shall provide staffing and logistical support for the crank-up task forces, supplying special agents, criminal intelligence analysts, forensic experts, financial auditors, equipment, and funding to the task forces as needed.

(c) Local law enforcement agencies participating in the Crank-Up Task Force Program shall be reimbursed by the department for personnel overtime costs and equipment or supplies required for task force activities.

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(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 867, Sec. 12. (SB 1144) Effective January 1, 2013.)