{"id":88841,"date":"2025-12-10T07:29:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T07:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/88841\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T07:29:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T07:29:07","slug":"bakersfield-seeks-community-input-in-search-for-new-police-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/88841\/","title":{"rendered":"Bakersfield seeks community input in search for new police chief"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) The city of Bakersfield held two community listening sessions on Tuesday to gather public feedback as it searches for a new police chief. <\/p>\n<p>This initiative follows Chief Greg Terry&#8217;s announcement of his retirement next year after 28 years of service.<\/p>\n<p>City Manager Christian Clegg hosted a virtual meeting, providing the community an opportunity to voice their opinions. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Bakersfield seeks community input in search for new police chief (KBAK){p}{\/p}\" class=\"ImageEmbed_image__qZBo_\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/6039ceac-be79-4a57-af1f-77766af7782c-Sequence_EVERT_0828BPDSAFETYTRAINING_0001_frame_17366.jpeg\"\/>Bakersfield seeks community input in search for new police chief (KBAK)<\/p>\n<p>Participants expressed a desire for a chief who is actively involved in the community.<\/p>\n<p>One attendee emphasized the importance of a chief who is &#8220;going to be a part of the total community, not just a figurehead but is willing to pick up the phone and call anyone.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Concerns were also raised about overspending and the need to leverage advancing technology. <\/p>\n<p>A participant, stated the need for &#8220;someone who cuts wasteful spending within the department&#8221; and &#8220;takes into account the changes in technology to better serve the community.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Bakersfield seeks community input in search for new police chief (KBAK)\" class=\"ImageEmbed_image__qZBo_\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fc30cd17-9334-4e71-b79f-e69db5ce6147-BPDTRUCK.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Bakersfield seeks community input in search for new police chief (KBAK)<\/p>\n<p>Clegg noted that many community members prefer an internal candidate due to existing relationships and familiarity with community dynamics. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They know the community. They know the community dynamics. They can offer continuity,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p>However, he also acknowledged the potential benefits of an external candidate, highlighting the value of &#8220;fresh perspectives&#8221; and &#8220;bringing an objectivity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"{p}Bakersfield seeks community input in search for new police chief (KBAK){\/p}\" class=\"ImageEmbed_image__qZBo_\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/9a2a1feb-e8e4-46eb-94b8-635458c0bb47-large16x9_BPDPARADEPRESSER_frame_3828.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Bakersfield seeks community input in search for new police chief (KBAK)<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Goh joined the meeting to stress the importance of community input. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Your input is so valued. We must have community input. We want a Bakersfield for all people. A safe Bakersfield for all people,&#8221; she said, expressing gratitude to participants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) The city of Bakersfield held two community listening sessions on Tuesday to gather public feedback&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":{"0":"post-88841","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bakersfield","8":"tag-bakersfield","9":"tag-bakersfield-headlines","10":"tag-bakersfield-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}