BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Bakersfield Police Department is in year 5 of working through a stipulated judgment handed down by the California Department of Justice, with Chief Brent Stratton saying the department is making significant progress toward full and effective compliance.
The judgment contains approximately 166 actionable paragraphs, each with its own set of compliance measures the department must meet. Stratton said the process involves developing policies in coordination with the monitoring team, the DOJ, and the department's community advisory panel before moving into training.
"The Bakersfield Police Department is dedicated to achieving full and effective compliance with the stipulated judgment. We've worked well with the California Department of Justice as well as with our monitors, and we look forward to being able to achieve full and effective compliance," Stratton said.
With 720 employees, training across the department is a significant undertaking. Key areas covered under the judgment include use of force, search and seizure, citizen complaints, community engagement, oversight and accountability, language access, promotional hiring standards, and the use of canines.
Stratton noted that some paragraphs have already received full and effective compliance approval from the DOJ, and that coming out of year 4, the department believes it has achieved compliance on additional paragraphs and is working through the submission process.
"There has been a tremendous amount of progress that's been done, and I do believe that our department is coming out better for it," Stratton said.
He acknowledged that stipulated judgments and consent decrees can take many years to resolve, pointing to Oakland's 24- to 25-year process and the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department each spending a decade under similar agreements.
Community Vitality Team targets encampments, removes 38 tons of trash
The BPD's Community Vitality Team has been conducting encampment cleanup operations across the city, with the most recent effort resulting in 38 tons of trash removed and 8 arrests.
Stratton said the team is a collaborative effort that includes code enforcement, public works, arson investigators from the fire department, behavioral health services, Flood Ministries, and other community-based organizations.
"When we offer resources, when people are willing to take it, we want them to be able to take those resources, but we find that oftentimes it's 10, 12, 15 times before somebody is willing to be able to take those resources," Stratton said.
He said the department focuses specifically on the criminal element within homeless populations, while acknowledging that homelessness is not a single issue.
"There's a variety of different people that are at a variety of different spots in their lives," Stratton said. "Sometimes there's a criminal component to it. Oftentimes there's severe and significant substance abuse and narcotic abuse issues. Sometimes that appears that it's a mental health issue. Sometimes they really are mental health issues. Sometimes there are people that just need some help."
Stratton said that under current California law, many of the offenses associated with homeless encampments do not result in lengthy jail sentences, and some individuals are being arrested 5, 6, or 7 times a month.
"The police department is going to continue to do what we can to enforce the law, to offer resources, help coordinate and work with our partners within the city to try to do the very best that we can to keep the city areas clean," Stratton said.
He described the situation as "a little bit of a game of whack a mole" and encouraged residents who see encampments to contact the communications center, Community Vitality, or the police department.
National Night Out
The BPD will participate in National Night Out, joining 300 cities across the country for the annual community event. The event will be held at Jois Park from 6 to 9 p.m.
"It's a chance for our department to build relationships with our community," Stratton said. "Come out, learn a little bit about what the department offers, a chance to be able to partner with our community, smile, shake some hands."
Stratton said anyone is welcome to attend.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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