Salinas police outline staffing gains, recruitment push; council to consider rifle ammunition purchase Oct. 14

Chief Ruben Acosta and Commander Brian Johnson updated the Salinas Police Community Advisory Committee on staffing, recruitment and community outreach, and Acosta said the police department will ask the City Council on Oct. 14 to approve purchase of ammunition for precision rifles.

The updates matter because the department has been actively recruiting to fill vacancies and expanding training and wellness programs for officers, while some community members urged more outreach and focused safety work around schools and neighborhood hotspots.

At the start of the meeting, Chief Acosta said the ammunition purchase will go to council because the rifles are used by specialty teams and the buy is subject to “Assembly Bill 481” and therefore requires council approval. "We're going to council on October 14 for the approval and purchase of ammunition for our precision rifles," Acosta said.

Commander Brian Johnson, commander for personnel and training, presented recruitment and staffing figures as of Sept. 17. "We have a 145 sworn position build; 139 are actually sworn, six of them are police recruits right now," Johnson said. He added the department is authorized 161 sworn positions and currently counts 12 additional positions to hire, for about 16…