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Ridgecrest police budget emphasizes staffing, body cameras and drones while transports to Bakersfield strain patrol time
Summary
The police department’s FY26 budget presentation highlighted staffing increases partly funded by Measure V and P, startup costs for body‑worn cameras, continued use of Flock license‑plate cameras, a new drone program, and operational strain from frequent long transports to the county’s Lerdo/Bakersfield facilities.
Ridgecrest’s police chief told the council the police budget for FY26 focuses on staffing, equipment upgrades and operating needs and relies on Measure V and Measure P allocations to fund positions and services.
The department listed personnel, vehicles, and technology among its priorities. Staff said Measure V supports 18 police department positions (plus smaller allocations to public works and streets), and Measure P is being used to reinstate four police officer positions along with a dispatcher and records support and to cover bond debt service related to the pool project.
The police chief described several equipment and program investments in FY26: full deployment of body‑worn cameras and vehicle camera systems, an ongoing Lenslock body‑camera contract with $172,000 in startup costs this year (projected to decline to about $84,000 annually thereafter), expansion of the department’s drone program to include exterior drones with FAA Part 107‑licensed operators, and continued use of the Flock network of license‑plate cameras.
The chief credited Flock with helping solve burglaries and said more cameras would be installed along state roadways in the next several weeks once pole installations complete. He also requested electrical upgrades to the police building and a new evidence storage building to free up space and protect equipment.
A recurring operational issue highlighted in the presentation was long prisoner transports. Staff said police made about 720 transports last year, roughly 680 of which were to Lerdo/Bakersfield; those trips frequently required four to six hours round trips and removed officers from frontline patrol duties for extended periods. The chief said the Kern County Sheriff’s Office had not been able to reopen a local jail and the city has limited ability to change that. He noted the city had ceased long mental‑health transports due to legal concerns and has been coordinating with the county and regional partners for alternatives.
Council members and staff asked for clarifications about dispatcher counts and the budgetary lines funding camera and Flock programs; staff said Lenslock body‑camera funds come from Prop 172 and Flock is funded elsewhere, and that the police impact fund is being used for facility expansion costs.
The chief emphasized recruitment from Ridgecrest and volunteer conversion programs (including volunteers who become community‑service officers) as strategies to build local staffing and reduce the time officers spend on transports and non‑patrol tasks.
