BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakersfield has long struggled with high rates of gun violence, at times reporting more homicides per capita than any other jurisdiction in California. But after years of targeted efforts by local law enforcement and city officials, the tide may be turning.
- Video shows a breakdown of ShotSpotter data going back to 2018 and the effort made by law enforcement and city officials to reduce gun violence.
- This is the first in a series of stories as Senior Reporter Veronica Morley takes a deeper look into gun violence in our community, it's impacts on youth, and what officials are doing to try and address the problem.
Bakersfield has long struggled with high rates of gun violence, at times reporting more homicides per capita than any other jurisdiction in California. But after years of targeted efforts by local law enforcement and city officials, the tide may be turning.
From 2021 to 2024, the city reported a 57% drop in homicides and a 60% decline in non-injury shootings, according to the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant Police Chief Brent Stratton attributed the improvement to a focused strategy aimed at the small segment of the population driving the majority of the violence.
“Oftentimes it's less than one-tenth of one percent of the population that can account for as much as 50 to 60% of the gun violence that goes on in a community,” Stratton said.
One tool central to the city’s approach is ShotSpotter, an acoustic gunshot detection system installed in areas historically plagued by gun violence. The system alerts police to gunfire even in cases where no 911 calls are made.
“What we found out that in about 90 to 91% of every ShotSpotter alert that we get, we do not receive a corresponding 911 call. So for us, it's a better indicator of what's actually happening so we can respond," Stratton said.
Bakersfield began using ShotSpotter in 2018 within a 3-square-mile area. That year, the department recorded 358 activations. The system expanded to 6 square miles in 2020, with activations peaking at 1,130 in 2021 — coinciding with a record 60 homicides.
“We were seeing sharp increases year after year in both fatal and non-fatal shootings,” Stratton said. “It became one of the main priorities of the city.”
In response, the city invested in prevention. In 2022, Bakersfield launched its Gun Violence Reduction Strategy, backed by $4.5 million from the California Violence Intervention Program and $1 million in local Measure N funds. That same year, the city created the Office of Violence Intervention and Prevention (OVIP).
OVIP Outreach Program Supervisor Mercedes Mayers said a key realization was that a relatively small group of individuals were involved in a large portion of the violence.
“Some of the things that we were noticing back in the day was that a lot of the crime that was happening was being done by a small population,” Mayers said.
Between July 2020 and June 2022, officials identified 380 individuals connected to 104 homicides and 99 non-deadly shootings. Of those, 116 were considered high risk. Outreach workers engaged with 64, enrolling 24 of the highest-risk individuals in intensive case management programs that addressed education, housing, employment and basic needs.
“We want to get them to move away from this lifestyle, but we also need to address some of the barriers,” Mayers said.
Mayers added that much of the initiative’s success came from uniting local organizations like Garden Pathways, Wendale Davis Foundation, Stay Focused Ministries and others, which had worked independently for years.
“They're known for going out in the community and really building those relationships,” she said. “Now, they're all utilizing their strengths to come together.”
As these efforts from the city and police continued, reports of shootings from ShotSpotter began to shift. ShotSpotter activations began to decline in 2022 — the same year the City implemented its gun violence reduction strategy — dropping to 801, then 741 in 2023. Last year, activations were 487, just over a hundred more than what BPD saw in 2018 when they only had a three-square mile radius.
While encouraged by the numbers, Stratton said the work is far from over.
“It’s a reminder not to take our foot off the gas,” he said. “This is just how work has to be done going forward.”
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