Attempts by law enforcement to investigate conditions at Gold Base have been blocked by legal difficulties and the unwillingness of those on the base to talk to the police. According to Wright, who wrote about the base in his 2013 book "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief", the Riverside County sheriff's office has never received a complaint from someone at the base about their treatment there, despite the many accounts of mistreatment. Wright attributes this to the fear that many Scientologists have of bringing shame upon Scientology and of being forced to break off contact with their friends and family members within the Church.