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Salinas police chief reports staffing shortfalls, recruitment gains and youth diversion progress
Summary
Chief Carlos Acosta told the PCAC the department is recruiting and expanding community programs while operating below authorized staffing. He reported personnel numbers, bilingual staffing gains, a lower homicide count in 2024, youth cadet and diversion program statistics, and upcoming community events.
Salinas Police Chief Carlos Acosta told the Police Community Advisory Committee on July 23 that the department is working to rebuild staffing levels while expanding community engagement, training and youth programs.
"It is not a secret that we are down several positions in officers," Acosta said, outlining staffing and recruiting metrics and new outreach efforts. He said the department has 144 sworn positions filled, is authorized for 161 sworn positions and currently has 13 openings (four of those positions are frozen). He reported seven recruits currently in the police academy and additional recruits in training. Professional staff fills 44 positions, with 11 positions to hire for that group.
Acosta highlighted force diversity and language capacity: the department listed 23 female officers and 69 Spanish-speaking officers — described at the meeting as approximately 48% of sworn positions. He also presented a 66.7% homicide solve rate and noted that Salinas completed 2024 at an 18-year low of six homicides.
On recruitment and retention, Acosta described outreach including an "oral board work assessment center" with community participants, partnerships with iHeartRadio, career days at local schools such as Rancho Cielo, and ongoing recruitment events. He said the department has hired seven lateral candidates since his November 2024 appointment.
Acosta and staff detailed youth and diversion programs. The cadet program now counts about 35 cadets who contributed more than 1,200 volunteer hours in 2024; the department held a cadet recognition event in March 2025. The youth diversion program launched in January 2025 and, per staff, currently has six enrolled youth, five pending enrollment, three under evaluation and five who have graduated. Tanya Erickson, police service administrator, confirmed the youth and family support service has assisted 20 families since it began in April 2024.
Funding and staffing for diversion were discussed. The CalVIP grant that helped start diversion was extended to Dec. 31, and the city budget for fiscal year 2025–26 made two of three diversion/community-engagement positions permanent effective July 1; a third position remains unfilled and staff said capacity will be constrained with only two full-time staff.
Acosta also described officer wellness efforts (peer support, chaplaincy, wellness training), community engagement numbers (two dedicated community-engagement staff, 102 presentations and more than 19,000 contacts in 2024) and upcoming events: a promotion ceremony at the Rotunda on Friday, Aug. 1 at 1 p.m., and National Night Out at the Salinas Sportsplex on Tuesday, Aug. 5 from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Committee members asked about Spanish-language proficiency testing, the origin and dates of diversion statistics, homicide investigations and whether additional volunteer or staffing support is possible for community engagement. Erickson and Acosta provided the program dates and confirmed HR administers language-proficiency tests; they noted the department aims to train all sworn members in crisis intervention techniques (CIT) and said about 92–94% of officers had received that training to date.
