Independent police auditor says Santa Cruz PD has improved; urges better case tracking and data systems

The City Council on May 27 received the fifth annual report from the independent police auditor (IPA), which described progress at the Santa Cruz Police Department while urging new case‑tracking practices, faster investigation timelines and sustained policy and training changes.

The auditor’s team, which began reviewing Santa Cruz cases in 2020, said the department has moved “beyond 101” oversight and is ready for more advanced review systems. “We’re no longer looking at cases through the lens of an introductory course in oversight,” the team said during the presentation, urging the city to adopt more systematic, multi‑year analysis of complaints and use‑of‑force data.

The IPA’s report summarized 63 closed cases reviewed during the reporting period and presented several case studies showing where the department’s current classifications and investigative depth can miss systemic issues. The auditors recommended: (1) closer review of cases now labeled “informational” to see if deeper system issues are present; (2) implementation and operational use of a case‑management platform (BlueTeam or similar) so patterns can be identified in real time; (3) clearer tracking of repeated supervisor‑level performance problems and an expansion of supervisor field training; and (4) improved property‑handling documentation and public guidance on retrieving property.

Why it matters: the IPA’s recommendations seek to move oversight from reactive inspection of single cases toward proactive, pattern‑based intervention. Auditors and the Police Department said better tracking would make it easier to spot recurring problems before they escalate and to measure reforms over time.

What staff and the chief said

Emily Nguyen, principal management analyst for the city manager’s office, introduced the auditors and described the office’s role in providing independent review of internal investigations and use‑of‑force incidents.

Michael Gianoco, who led the presentation with colleagues from the OIR Group, said the department has improved substantially since the auditors began reviewing cases in 2020 but still needs better classification and tracking so supervisors can see trends across years. The auditors praised the collaborative relationship with the department and said the city is now working at a more advanced oversight level.

Chief Bernie Escalante said the department has found the auditor relationship “fruitful,” adding, “They challenge me. I think I challenge them sometimes as well,” and that ongoing dialogue has helped the department adapt policies and training.

Council reaction and direction

Council members pressed for more longitudinal trend data and clearer status updates on auditor recommendations. Council member O’Hara moved, and the council approved, a directive asking the IPA to include, in future annual reports, (a) a summary of trends visible in the appendices (multi‑year where possible) and (b) a clearer summary of how recommendations related to policy, training and oversight will be advanced and monitored. The motion passed on a roll call vote with all members voting aye.

Public comment and community input

Representatives of local oversight and civil‑liberties organizations addressed the council during the public comment period. Lee Brokaw, chair of the Police Accountability and Transparency Committee for the ACLU’s local chapter, emphasized the stakes of supervisor performance and pushed for monitoring that prevents poorly performing supervisors from simply moving between agencies. Other speakers praised the department’s compassionate front‑line staff and urged continued emphasis on de‑escalation and community engagement.

What the report changed or reinforced

The IPA noted that the department has already adopted several recommendations from prior years, including new policies on recording public interactions, an updated pursuit policy and changes to the use‑of‑force policy. The auditors provided a recommendation tracker in the report showing the status of 73 recommendations made over five years; the auditors reported more than 90% of those recommendations were agreed to and are at various stages of implementation.

Next steps

Council’s motion directs the IPA to add trend summaries and an implementation monitoring outline to future reports. The department and auditors said they will work on operationalizing BlueTeam or an equivalent case‑management solution and on supervisor field‑training recommendations. The council will receive the auditor’s next annual report in roughly one year.

Ending

The council accepted the auditor’s report and passed the directive to expand trend reporting and implementation tracking. Staff said the auditors and police department will continue to collaborate on policy updates and software deployment to improve oversight transparency and timeliness.