The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is committed to promoting and protecting the privacy rights of individuals, as enumerated in Article 1 of the California Constitution, the Information Practices Act of 1977, and other state and federal laws.

It is the policy of the OIG to limit the collection and to safeguard the privacy of personal information collected or maintained by the OIG. The OIG’s information management practices conform to the requirements of, and are subject to the limitations found in, the Information Practices Act (Civil Code section 1798 et seq.), the Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et seq.), Government Code sections 11015.5 and 11019.9, and other applicable laws pertaining to information privacy.

The OIG follows these principles in collecting and managing personal information:

• We collect personal information on individuals only as allowed by law. We limit the collection of personal information to what is relevant and necessary to accomplish the lawful purpose of the OIG. Personal information, as defined in the Information Practices Act, is information that identifies or describes an individual, including, but not limited to, name, Social Security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, medical history, employment history, password, email address, and information that reveals any network location or identity, but excludes any information manually submitted to the OIG by a user, whether electronically or in written form. Personal information is not subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. Website visitors may request to have their information discarded without reuse or distribution. To make such a request, contact the OIG’s privacy coordinator.
• Government Code section 11015.5.(b) prohibits state agencies from distributing or selling any electronically collected personal information about users to any third party without the permission of the user. The OIG does not sell any electronically collected personal information. The OIG will not distribute any electronically collected personal information without the individual’s consent, unless the Inspector General determines that disclosure of the information is necessary in the interests of justice.
• We do not collect home, business or email addresses, or account information from persons who simply browse our website. The OIG collects personal information about individuals through our website only if an individual provides such information to the OIG voluntarily through the electronic complaint form or the webmaster contact form or any electronic form provided on the OIG’s website. The information that the OIG automatically collects includes the domain name or Internet Protocol address that relates to the machine used to access the OIG ‘s website, the type of browser and operating system used, the date and time when the website is visited, webpages displayed, and any forms that are uploaded.
• When visiting the OIG’s website, a temporary cookie may be placed on your computer for applications, such as the online complaint form or the webmaster contact form. The session cookies are used to facilitate the interaction between you and the fields in the form. The cookies are not used to collect or store information about you and do not track you if you return to our website. The cookie is temporary and will be deleted when you exit your browser.
• We may use session cookies in some areas of the OIG’s website to improve the overall usability of the site. Cookies are small text files placed on your computer, often without your knowledge, while visiting certain sites on the Internet used to identify your computer. For example, cookies are used by some sites to greet you personally, to post a list of your favorite books to purchase or to remember what you had in your shopping basket the last time you visited.
• We strive in each instance to tell people who provide personal information to the OIG the purpose for which the information is collected. At the time of collection, we also strive to tell persons who are asked to provide personal information about the general uses that we will make of that information.
• We only use or disclose personal information for the specified purposes, or purposes consistent with those purposes, unless we get the consent of the subject of the information, or unless required by law or regulation. The Public Records Act exists to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions in both state and federal law to the public’s right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs, including maintaining the privacy of individuals. In the event of a conflict between this Policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act, or other law governing the disclosure of records, the applicable law will control.
• Information reported to the Office of the Inspector General is confidential. Identifying information, and any personal papers or correspondence from any person reporting information to the Inspector General, shall not be disclosed. Exceptions are that the information may be released in confidence to the Governor, the Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Chief Deputy Secretary or Chairperson of the correctional entity being investigated, or to law enforcement authorities for appropriate action. Names and other information may also be released in those cases where the Inspector General determines it is necessary in the interests of justice, in response to a court order, or if the case is referred to another agency for an internal affairs investigation.
• We use information security safeguards. We take reasonable precautions to protect the personal information collected or maintained by the OIG against loss, unauthorized access, and illegal use or disclosure. The OIG uses encryption technology to protect the security of individuals’ personal information during transmission of such information through the OIG’s website forms. Such personal information is stored by the OIG in secure locations. The OIG’s staff is trained on procedures for the management of personal information, including limitations on the release of information. Access to personal information is limited to those members of the OIG’s staff whose work requires such access. Confidential information is destroyed according to the OIG’s records retention schedule and may be retained on storage systems in log files, backup archives, or on backup tapes up to five years. The OIG conducts periodic reviews to ensure that proper information management policies and procedures are understood and followed.

Please note that our Privacy Policy reflects the OIG’s current business practices and is subject to change without notice.

If you have questions or would like additional information regarding the OIG’s privacy policy, or have questions regarding the location of your records or categories of persons using the information contained in your records, you may contact the OIG’s privacy coordinator.

You may also write to us at:

Office of the Inspector General
ATTN: Privacy Officer
10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110
Sacramento, CA 95827

You may call our office at (916) 255-1102 and ask to speak with the OIG’s Privacy Officer.