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Police chief reports hiring gains, training expansion and low complaint rate in annual oversight update
Summary
Chief Kelly Gordon told the council the department reduced vacancies, expanded training and community engagement and reported 11 community complaints in 2025 (three sustained, four open); she said department activity produced complaints in 0.02% of contacts.
The Santa Barbara Police Department reported hiring gains, expanded training and steady complaint rates in its annual update to the city’s Fire & Police Commission and City Council on April 14.
Chief Kelly Gordon told council members the department handled over 69,000 calls for service in the prior year, recorded more than 21,000 officer‑initiated actions and closed more than 1,000 cases in the investigations bureau. Chief Gordon highlighted recruitment improvements—14 new officers in 2025 and a reduction in vacancy rate from roughly 25% three years earlier toward about 10%—and credited a rewritten recruitment process and expanded local outreach for the gains.
On oversight, the department received 11 community complaints in 2025 (seven filed in person, three online, one by phone). At the time of the report two complaints were unfounded, two exonerated, one not sustained, three sustained and four remained under investigation. Chief Gordon explained disposition categories, described discipline steps (counseling, written reprimand, suspension) and emphasized that training accompanies sustained findings to change behavior.
The chief also described an increase in training: the department logged over 8,000 POST‑counted training hours in 2025, plus thousands of additional internal training hours. Specialized teams—co‑response clinicians paired with officers, crisis negotiation, and SWAT—provide both tactical support and daily problem‑solving on calls for service, she said. Chief Gordon reported the co‑response teams operate seven days a week with clinician partners and that opioid‑settlement funding helped secure funding for co‑response officer positions.
Barbara Anderson, the city’s independent police monitor and senior assistant to the city administrator, presented the Fire & Police Commission’s work plan to improve public engagement and commissioners’ understanding of investigatory and complaint processes. The commission plans further community outreach, training and liaison work in the year ahead.
