BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The Bakersfield Police Department and Kern County Sheriff’s Office serve different jurisdictions, but officials with both agencies say communication and resource sharing are a regular part of their operations when incidents or investigations require them to work together.
Captain Ryan Kroeker with the Bakersfield Police Department said communication between the two agencies happens at several levels, beginning with their respective communication centers.
“We communicate regularly. We constantly converse and talk about issues going on in Kern County and support each other in any way possible,” Kroeker said.
According to Kroeker, BPD’s communication center has a direct line of contact with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Communication Center. He said executive staff from both agencies also have longstanding working relationships and can communicate directly by cellphone when necessary.
That communication becomes especially important when one agency needs additional resources from the other.
Kroeker said that during an emergency, BPD’s communication center can contact KCSO and request assistance. He said the same process works in reverse when the Sheriff’s Office needs help from Bakersfield police.
“Throughout the history in the 20 plus years that I’ve been an officer, they’ve never hesitated to not send support and vice versa when the sheriff’s office needs support,” Kroeker said. “We’re gonna respond as well.”
Navigating city and county jurisdiction
The relationship between the agencies can become particularly important around jurisdictional boundaries.
Kroeker said there are areas where one side of a street may fall within the City of Bakersfield while the other side is in county jurisdiction.
If an emergency occurs and it is not immediately clear where the incident took place, Kroeker said representatives from both agencies may respond first and determine jurisdiction afterward.
“Then we can figure out after the fact exactly where it occurred and then the location of where the incident occurred, that jurisdiction will then have lead and we provide assistance,” Kroeker said.
Bakersfield Police Dept. FILE
He added that assistance is not limited to incidents near jurisdictional boundaries. During major incidents, the agencies can provide resources to one another regardless of whether the incident is close to a city-county line.
“We care about the city of Bakersfield. But we also care about Kern County,” Kroeker said.
Separate radio frequencies
Both BPD and KCSO officials said the agencies maintain separate radio frequencies.
Undersheriff Larry McCurtain with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said there are still ways for the agencies to communicate during major incidents.
“We each maintain our own different radio frequency bands,” McCurtain said. “However, if there is a severe critical incident, there is the ability to pass communications.”
McCurtain said certain units have dual-band radio capabilities that allow communication with the other agency’s communication center when necessary during large-scale incidents involving multiple units.
He also said both agencies staff a watch lieutenant or watch commander during each patrol shift. Those ranking officers are available to communicate directly with their counterpart at the other agency about critical incidents.
During pursuits, Kroeker said BPD’s communication center broadcasts information to its units while also relaying information to KCSO’s dispatch center. He said some BPD units scan Sheriff’s Office channels and some KCSO deputies scan BPD channels.
Kroeker acknowledged that in complex situations, however, information can sometimes be delayed.
“There are certainly some times where there may be situations where information is delayed,” Kroeker said. “We try to limit that as much as we can, but those are always possibilities, and we try to work through it.”
Working together on gang violence
Coordination between BPD and KCSO also extends beyond active emergency responses.
Kroeker, who said he oversees BPD’s gang unit as the department’s special operations captain, explained that the two agencies are responsible for incidents occurring within their respective jurisdictions. That is why crimes within Bakersfield and crimes occurring in county jurisdiction are accounted for separately.
However, Kroeker said those jurisdictional boundaries do not prevent the agencies from working together on gang enforcement.
“We meet every Wednesday as a gang unit. The sheriff’s office gang unit is there,” Kroeker said. “We share information, we work together on active cases.”
Kroeker said the agencies use those meetings to understand what is happening in investigations on both sides of the city-county line and avoid conflicts between investigations.
McCurtain also stressed the importance of sharing intelligence and resources between the two gang units.
“Gang members and criminals…they don’t respect jurisdictional boundaries,” McCurtain said.
“They’re not going to operate just within the city limits of Bakersfield. They’re not gonna operate just in unincorporated county areas. They cross county lines, they cross city lines,” McCurtain said.
He said the meetings allow specialized units to share intelligence and resources and understand who they are focusing on as they work to reduce crime.
KCSO provided resources following Independence High School shooting
The agencies’ coordination was also seen following the deadly shooting at the Independence High School football game Friday night.
McCurtain said the Sheriff’s Office sent resources that were in the area on the night of the shooting to assist.
“The evening that that happened, the sheriff’s office sent resources that were in the area,” McCurtain said.
Fans flee after gunshots rang out during Independence High School’s football game on Friday, August 21, in Bakersfield, CA. PHOTO: KBAK/KBFX
McCurtain also said KCSO provides aerial resources, including helicopters, five days a week to assist BPD when needed.
Asked what he would tell parents and residents concerned about gang violence following the shooting, McCurtain said the Sheriff’s Office takes the issue seriously and works to make resources available to combat it.
“We don’t tolerate the gang violence, and we do everything we can to prevent it,” McCurtain said.
McCurtain said the relationship between the two agencies ultimately centers on making resources available when either department needs assistance.
“We’re here to support each other. We’re here to make our community safer,” McCurtain said. “And that is the most important thing that we can do to assure our public.”