Audit of the Santa Barbara Police Department Highlights Strong Leadership and Community Engagement, Low Use of Force Rate

The Fire and Police Commission will receive a presentation at its April 27, 2023 meeting on an audit of the Santa Barbara Police Department. The audit was directed by the Mayor and Council as part of the creation and implementation of the new civilian oversight system and was a proactive effort to ensure transparency and demonstrate accountability to the highest of standards and best practices.

The independent audit included a review of the Department’s complaint process; the need for executive development and leadership training; employee retention and recruiting; use of force training and review; and general policy compliance. It includes 31 recommendations.

“I am pleased that the audit aligned with many of the improvements and refinements that I was already in the process of implementing. It also affirms that our Department fundamentals are strong and that our team excels in regards to how we engage with the community and investigate both internal and external complaints, as well as conduct use of force investigations,” shared Chief Kelly Gordon.

The audit highlighted the low number of complaints received by the Department as well as the extraordinarily limited number of use of force incidents. In 2022, there were only 147 use of force incidents of 45,111 contacts which means that approximately 99.67% of contacts did not result in forced used. The majority of these incidents are “takedowns,” where officers take resistant subjects to the ground to better control and detain them. The independent auditor specifically noted that the last officer-involved shooting in the City was in 2019, and that there is a culture that supports restraints and de-escalation of conflict rather than a reliance on physically aggressive policing.

“The audit supports the direction the Mayor and City Council took in creating the new civilian oversight system for law enforcement. This offers the community more insight into our Police Department and provides the opportunity for us to work closely together as we evolve our policies and practices to meet new standards and expectations,” said City Administrator Rebecca Bjork.

A cross-cutting theme throughout the report is the impact of low staffing levels on the ability of the Department to support and promote professional development opportunities for officers. The Police Chief will speak to the prioritization of executive development and training throughout the budget process that begins this month.

The audit is available as part of the Commission agenda packet at https://santabarbaraca.gov/fire-police-commission and will also be presented to the City Council on May 2, 2023.