BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A new Kern County Grand Jury report is criticizing the California Department of Justice's oversight of the Kern County Sheriff's Office, claiming the process has been costly, delayed, and lacked clear standards.
The report examines the five-year stipulated judgment put in place after the state accused the Kern County Sheriff's Office of a pattern of unconstitutional policing.
The grand jury found the court-appointed monitoring team did not create finalized compliance metrics, which the report says made it unclear what the sheriff's office needed to do to fully satisfy the agreement.
The report also states the monitoring team did not issue some required monitoring plans, and says staffing issues and response delays contributed to slowdowns in policy approvals.
One example cited in the report involved K-9 use-of-force policies, which the grand jury says took years to review and approve.
The report acknowledges the Kern County Sheriff's Office created a compliance bureau, expanded its body-worn camera unit, increased audits, and updated policies in response to the agreement.
But the grand jury also notes the cost to taxpayers, saying monitoring costs alone totaled more than $3.6 million between 2021 and 2025, with millions more spent on staffing, software, training, and compliance operations.
The report also criticizes the county being billed for work done by the monitoring team to help the Department of Justice argue for a two-year extension of the agreement.
The grand jury is now recommending Kern County appeal the court's decision to extend the stipulated judgment through December 2027.
At the same time, the report says the sheriff's office should continue working toward full compliance while the agreement remains in effect.
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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