BPD set to expand again as vacancies, calls to defund challenge the department

May 10—As calls to defund the Bakersfield Police Department continue for a second year, the city of Bakersfield is poised to increase its budget once again.

In the midst of a three-year expansion that would see 100 police officers added to city streets, BPD pitched a roughly $13.4 million budget increase to the City Council on Monday. Pointing to a year of record homicides and increased time responding to the highest priority 911 calls, Chief Greg Terry called the increase necessary to achieve department goals.

"Our mission is to partner with the community and solve the significant public safety challenges that we are facing," he told council members at the beginning of his presentation.

Moving into the next fiscal year, which begins in July, BPD faces some challenges. At 45, the number of homicides in 2020 was the highest its ever been. The number of aggravated assaults increased from 915 to 1,253.

Perhaps because of the higher number of incidents, the time it took officers to get to calls increased from 2019, the wrong direction for a department that has been saying more officers would lead to lower response times.

BPD responds to Priority 1 calls — which include active burglaries and assaults — in under seven minutes less than 50 percent of the time. Terry called this number "unacceptable."

In the current fiscal year, the city has approved $119.9 million to BPD, a figure that could increase to $133.4 if the department's proposal is passed by the City Council. The increase would mostly come from the Public Safety and Vital Services 1 percent sales tax increase, otherwise known as Measure N.

A recent poll by the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee showed a general support for adding more police officers to city streets.

However, the city has struggled to meet its timeline of adding a net 100 officers in the three fiscal years following the passage of Measure N. In February, the city reported retirements and other separations had resulted in officers leaving the department at about the same rate as they were added.

An 18-month training process means the officers hired today need more than a year before they patrol the streets on their own.

While BPD is proposing adding 28 new sworn positions to its ranks in the upcoming fiscal year, the department is grappling with 50 vacancies. Currently, the department reports a sworn staff of 429, more than 70 officers short of its goal of 500.

Despite the shortfall, Terry said work BPD had done to improve the recruiting process should soon bring more officers to the department.

"I'm very confident that we will be seeing the positive impact in all of that work from the last year and a half, and I think we are going to make significant progress over the next fiscal year," he said.

But some Bakersfield residents do not want to see more officers added to the department. They would rather see resources taken from BPD to fund efforts they say will better assure the safety of the city's most vulnerable communities.

For the second year in a row, People's Budget Bako has completed an alternative budget the organization says better represents the will of the people. The Black-led group sees defunding the police as a necessary step toward improving the well-being of communities of color.

"We can't have police getting more money, because every time they get more money we also see people like us getting killed or harmed," said Daulton Jones, People's Budget co-founder. "We're not saying take away the police and don't do anything. We're saying the police should be defunded so that we can invest into our community with resources that are actually proven to help prevent crime."

The group came to prominence in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. The budget they put together, which Jones said involved the input of more than 500 people, includes violence prevention, mental health resources and even reparations to Black and indigenous communities, among others.

By continuing to raise the police budget, he added that local politicians were showing that they do not care about their communities.

"They didn't learn anything from last year or the year before that or the year before that," he said. "They do not care, they will not care, and they choose not to do anything to change it."

For his part, Terry said more staff will allow BPD to better interact with the community.

"I believe the community has a right to expect that they have some input into how we are delivering our services," he said, "but I also believe there should be a shared responsibility as well when it comes to addressing the public safety issues that we have."

You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You can also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.