The Bakersfield Monitor oversees the implementation of the Stipulated Judgment (Judgment) entered into by the California Department of Justice (CALDOJ) and the City of Bakersfield (City) on August 23, 2021. The Judgment contains a series of police reform measures that the City and the Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) will implement.

The CALDOJ Attorney General oversaw the investigation into BPD in response to serious concerns that the community raised about some police practices, notably those associated with BPD’s use of force training, policies and application. Following the investigation, CALDOJ, the City and BPD entered into the Judgment, which is enforceable by the Court should the Parties (CALDOJ, City and BPD) not reach agreement on compliance with the each paragraph’s requirements in the Judgement. The Judgment is in effect for five years and ends upon compliance with the requirements. The Judgment may be extended upon agreement of the Parties. The process outlined in this Judgment seeks to ensure the City and BPD focus on protecting individual statutory and constitutional rights, treat individuals with dignity and respect, and promote public safety consistent with community priorities.

The Judgment’s underlying goal is to enhance BPD’s relationship with the community as a whole. The Monitoring Team understands that this outcome requires a partnership between BPD and the community it serves – one in which BPD is transparent about its processes and provides community members with a voice regarding policing strategies.

Throughout the period of the Judgment and ideally beyond, the Bakersfield community will have the opportunity to be meaningfully engaged about policing strategies and key areas of concern. Substantive reform can only be achieved with the Bakersfield stakeholders serving as partners to the reform envisioned in the Judgment. We are here to help drive this engagement through evaluation and reporting.

The Monitor’s Role

The Monitor is tasked with evaluating BPD’s progress implementing the Judgment’s reform requirements. To complete this role, the Monitor Team will work with the stakeholders – community, institutional, City, BPD and CALDOJ – to understand and evaluate BPD’s progress and report on it annually.

The Monitor will do that through data review, evaluation of policies and practices, observations and interviews. We will report on the outcomes of our reviews and assessments annually, identifying systemic changes, improvements and concerns, where applicable. We will do so in a manner that will provide transparency, oversight and accountability to policing in Bakersfield.

It is important to note that the Monitor does not have authority to act in place of the Chief, City Manager, Mayor or Council. The Monitor cannot directly address individual complaints. The Monitor ensures the reforms called for in the Judgment establish sustainable police practices that are delivered in a procedurally just manner and consistent with the values of the Bakersfield community. This will benefit all individuals in Bakersfield.

This is the Monitor's official website. We are starting down the path toward reform and anticipate hard work to come. We will post and update our materials as the year progresses and will seek to engage as many stakeholders as possible.