BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakersfield's newly sworn-in police chief is settling into his role and laying out an ambitious agenda for the department.
Brent Stratton, who was recently inducted as chief of the Bakersfield Police Department, said the realities of the job are beginning to set in now that his predecessor has officially departed.
"Especially with last week being Chief's last week, but this week when he's gone, there are no more emails that are going to his inbox. They're coming to mine, and so it is a little bit the realities are sinking in, and I'm just still trying to get my feet underneath me and wrap my arms completely around the job. I think it's going to take some time," Stratton said.
Stratton described his transition as bittersweet, citing his respect for outgoing Chief Greg Terry.
"On one hand it's a little bit bittersweet because I respect the heck out of Chief Terry a lot as a mentor and as a friend, and I wanted to be able to send him off right, and I felt like we were able to do that, but it was a lot between my induction ceremony, his retirement, and then his send off, and it was a busy week ceremony wise, so it's nice to be able to kind of get back to the work," Stratton said.
Three priorities
Stratton said he has organized his goals into three areas: improving safety, increasing residents' sense of safety, and strengthening community relationships.
"I think we have a pretty safe city and a safe community, but I don't know that people always feel that way, so I wanna do what we can to increase people's feeling of safety," Stratton said.
He said the department's mission — partnering with the community to protect lives and property — will guide his approach to problem-solving, including issues that extend beyond what police alone can address.
"There are problems that are beyond the scope of the police department being able to solve, and then to strengthen relationships in a variety of different ways and ways that we'd look for ways that we can just try to increase public trust and to be able to build those relationships," Stratton said.
Gun violence
Stratton identified gun violence reduction as a specific numerical priority, pointing to data from former Chief Terry's final public safety report to the city council.
"We saw 3 years of decreases, and last year we saw those numbers tick back up, so making sure that we have a strong focus on keeping the gun violence numbers down," Stratton said.
He said the department is entering a partnership with criminologists at the University of Pennsylvania to study domestic violence and intimate partner violence numbers and identify strategies for reduction.
Stratton said gun violence figures are already trending in the right direction in 2026.
"So far as we're into, you know, halfway into quarter 2 of this year, we have seen reductions in our gun violence numbers and bringing them back down," Stratton said.
"I'm hoping to bring a reduction from where we were at 24, so 24 was the lowest we'd had in a long time. We saw an increase in 25, and our goal for 26 is to be even lower than we were in 24," Stratton said.
Hit-and-run involving teen on electric scooter
Stratton addressed an ongoing investigation into a hit-and-run that injured a teenager riding an electric scooter.
"We're still looking for the suspect vehicle, so any information that anybody may have on the involved parties, please share it with the Bakersfield Police Department," Stratton said.
He said the victim recently celebrated his 17th birthday and faces a long recovery.
"It's an unfortunate way to celebrate his birthday. I know he has a long road to recovery ahead, but we certainly want to send him our best and let him know that we're thinking about him," Stratton said.
Stratton urged parents to be aware of the dangers posed by electric bikes and scooters, noting some can travel upward of 40 miles per hour.
"Sometimes as parents, I think we don't recognize and realize how fast some of those things are going. Sometimes they're moving upwards of 40 miles an hour. It's dangerous, and so just to be cautious and sometimes even when you're doing everything right, cars don't always see you," Stratton said.
He said the department focuses on three factors when addressing roadway safety: environment, enforcement, and education.
Homeless encampments
Stratton said the department's impact unit — which he said includes close to 20 or more officers working 40 hours a week on quality-of-life enforcement — is engaged in daily work to address homeless encampments across the city.
"It does feel a little bit like we're able to clean up one and it shifts to someplace else. And so then that's where our attention goes and trying to do the very best we can to keep that clean," Stratton said.
He said the effort is collaborative, involving the city's community vitality program, public works, and community-based organizations focused on housing, substance abuse counseling, and mental health resources.
Decoy buys and DUI enforcement
Stratton confirmed the department conducts alcohol decoy buy operations through a grant from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, carried out by the department's vice unit.
"We think it leads to tragic outcomes and we think that it's directly tied to being able to save the lives of the youth in our city," Stratton said.
On DUI enforcement, Stratton said the department uses both checkpoints and roving saturation patrols, funded through the Office of Traffic Safety. He said advance public notice of checkpoints — without disclosing locations — serves as a deterrent, but that roving patrols are the most effective tool.
"We think that roving patrol is the best way to be able to look for impaired driving and try to do the very best that we can to reduce impaired driving in our community. We think we have a real issue with that here," Stratton said.
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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