Editing Bakersfield, California (section)

== Government and politics ==
{{For|current elected officials and representative districts (all levels of government)|List of elected officials in Bakersfield}}
[[File:2011 Bakersfield City Hall.JPG|thumb|[[Bakersfield City Hall|City Hall]] is the seat of government for the city. Both the mayor's office and city council chambers are located inside.]]

=== Local government ===
Bakersfield uses the [[Council–manager government|Council-Manager]] form of government, in which the City Council is the primary governing authority.<ref>[http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/administration/mayor_council/history.htm History of Bakersfield] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109153835/http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/administration/mayor_council/history.htm |date=January 9, 2012 }}. City of Bakersfield. Retrieved March 17, 2012.</ref> The [[Bakersfield City Council|City Council]] consists of seven members elected from seven wards (or districts). The [[Mayor of Bakersfield|Mayor]] is elected at large and is the presiding member of the City Council, although she does not cast a vote except in a few instances.<ref name=MAYOR_CITY_CHARTER_CAST_VOTE>''Bakersfield City Charter''. Article III, Section 14.</ref> The City Council appoints and confirms (which the mayor does cast a vote<ref name=MAYOR_CITY_CHARTER_CAST_VOTE />) both the [[City attorney|City Attorney]] and the [[City Manager]].<ref>''Bakersfield City Chater''. Article IV, Section 34.</ref> The City Manager, in turn, appoints (does not require confirmation from the City Council) the Finance Director, [[Municipal clerk|City Clerk]], and Deputy City Clerk.<ref>''Bakersfield City Charter''. Article IV, Section 38, 40, 40 1/2.</ref> In addition to these positions, Bakersfield has several departments that provide the services necessary to the city. They are: [[Bakersfield Department of Development Services|Department of Development Services]], [[Bakersfield Department of Economic and Community Development|Department of Economic and Community Development]], [[Bakersfield Fire Department|Fire Department]], [[Bakersfield Police Department|Police Department]], [[Bakersfield Department of Public Works|Department of Public Works]], [[Bakersfield Department of Recreation and Parks|Department of Recreation and Parks]], and [[Bakersfield Department of Water Resources|Department of Water Resources]].

The framework for the city government is defined in the [[Municipal corporation|City Charter]]. As of 2011, it contained 11 articles and four addendums.<ref>[http://www.qcode.us/codes/bakersfield/view.php?topic=charter_of_the_city_of_bakersfield_state&frames=on Charter of the City of Bakersfield] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702010008/http://www.qcode.us/codes/bakersfield/view.php?topic=charter_of_the_city_of_bakersfield_state&frames=on |date=July 2, 2014 }}. Quality Code Publishing. Retrieved March 17, 2012.</ref> The current version was adopted on January 23, 1915.<ref>[http://www.qcode.us/codes/bakersfield/view.php?topic=charter_of_the_city_of_bakersfield_state-charter_history&frames=on Charter History] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701235739/http://www.qcode.us/codes/bakersfield/view.php?topic=charter_of_the_city_of_bakersfield_state-charter_history&frames=on |date=July 1, 2014 }}. Quality Code Publishing. Retrieved March 17, 2012.</ref> Little information is known about the City Charter adopted in 1873 or 1898, when the city was incorporated. The City Charter has been amended several times since it was adopted. One of the more definitive amendments was to change the Mayor from an appointed position (by the City Council) to an elected position in 1956, which was done as a result of the [[1952 Kern County earthquake]].<ref>Bailey, Richard (1984). ''Heart of the Golden Empire: An Illustrated History of Bakersfield''. Woodland Hills, CA: Windsor Publications. {{ISBN|0-89781-065-1}}. p. 98.</ref>

The City Manager of Bakersfield is the appointed head of the [[executive branch]]. The position was created after 1957 when the role of [[Mayor of Bakersfield|mayor]] (which was the previous head) was split into two new positions. Under the [[council-manager]] form of government, the City Manager is responsible for executing ordinances passed by the [[Bakersfield City Council|city council]] and running the departments that make up the city. His office is currently located in [[Bakersfield City Hall|City Hall North]].<ref>[http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/administration/citymanager/index.htm City Manager's Office] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120220445/http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/administration/citymanager/index.htm |date=November 20, 2010 }}. City of Bakersfield. Retrieved May 15, 2010.</ref>

The city council appoints the city manager. His service can end in one of two ways. Either he resigns or by a vote of removal by the city council. The vote to appoint and remove is one of the few votes the mayor can cast.<ref name="MAYOR_CITY_CHARTER_CAST_VOTE" />

For a list of past and present mayors, see [[Mayor of Bakersfield, California#List of Mayors|List of mayors of Bakersfield]].

=== State and federal ===
Federally, Bakersfield is split between [[California's 20th congressional district]], which is represented by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Vince Fong]], and [[California's 22nd congressional district]], which is represented by Republican [[David Valadao]].

=== Political makeup ===
An August 2005 article in the ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'' listed Bakersfield as the eighth-most-conservative city in the United States and the most conservative city in California.<ref>{{cite news |title=Where have Seattle's lefties gone? |first=Neil |last=Modie |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/236320_liberal12.html |newspaper=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |date=August 11, 2005 |access-date=June 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514224718/http://seattlepi.com/local/236320_liberal12.html |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]], Republican [[John McCain]] received 55.6% of the city's votes to Democrat [[Barack Obama]]'s 42.9%.<ref>[http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_general/ssov/5-pres-by-political-districts.pdf California 2008 U.S. Presidential Election Results by Political Districts] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612063423/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_general/ssov/5-pres-by-political-districts.pdf |date=June 12, 2009 }}</ref> The same year, Bakersfield cast 75.2% of its votes in favor of [[California Proposition 8 (2008)|Proposition 8]], which amended the [[California Constitution]] to ban [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>[http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_general/ssov/11-ballot-measures-by-political-districts.pdf California 2008 Ballot Measures by Political Districts] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018060504/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_general/ssov/11-ballot-measures-by-political-districts.pdf |date=October 18, 2012 }}</ref> In the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]], [[Donald Trump]] received 50.4% of the vote to [[Hillary Clinton]]'s 44.0%.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2016-general/ssov/ssov-complete.pdf#page20 |title=Supplement to the Statement of Vote |first=Alex |last=Padilla |publisher=California Secretary of State |date=November 8, 2016 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416081028/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2016-general/ssov/ssov-complete.pdf#page20 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, Trump's vote share remained at 50.4%, while [[Joe Biden]] increased the Democratic showing to 47.2%.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2020-general/ssov/complete-ssov.pdf#page20 |title=Supplement to the Statement of Vote |first=Shirley |last=Weber |publisher=California Secretary of State |date=November 3, 2020 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2020-general/ssov/complete-ssov.pdf#page20 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Public safety ===
Law enforcement within the city limits is provided by the [[Bakersfield Police Department]]. Fire protection within the city is provided jointly by the [[Bakersfield Fire Department]] and by the [[Kern County Fire Department]], which protects the county as a whole.

Bakersfield is traditionally acknowledged as the frontier delineating [[Sureño]] and [[Norteños|Norteño]] gang territories.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

==== Police ====
{{Main|Bakersfield Police Department}}
The Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) is the agency responsible for [[Law enforcement agency|law enforcement]]. It has over 363 officers and 100 professional staff, covering an area of {{convert|145|sqmi|km2}}, serving an urban population of more than 800,000. The current [[police chief|chief]] of the department is Greg Terry.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bakersfield.com/news/lyle-martin-selected-as-new-bakersfield-police-chief/article_b069bde9-6688-592d-8efc-2348767d1e9d.html |title=Lyle Martin selected as new Bakersfield Police chief |last=Kotowski |first=Jason |date=December 6, 2016 |website=Bakersfield.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208124431/http://www.bakersfield.com/news/lyle-martin-selected-as-new-bakersfield-police-chief/article_b069bde9-6688-592d-8efc-2348767d1e9d.html |archive-date=December 8, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The department protects the city, split between two areas: West area and East area, with police headquarters in the east and the west substation serving west Bakersfield. The department administration comprises the police chief, one assistant chief, four [[Police captain|captains]], and eleven lieutenants.<ref>[http://www.ci.bakersfield.ca.us/POLICE/index.htm Home Page] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218074913/http://www.ci.bakersfield.ca.us/police/index.htm |date=December 18, 2009 }}. Bakersfield Police Department. Retrieved March 13, 2012.</ref>

The department headquarters are located at 1601 Truxtun Avenue. The West Substation is located at 1301 Buena Vista Road. Satellite offices are located on E. 11th Street and E. White Lane. The department pistol range is located on Truxtun Avenue, with the K-9 training grounds next door to the range. The department training academy is located on Norris Road and is in conjunction with the Kern County Sheriff's Department.

The 2015 Mapping Police Violence study calculated that Bakersfield police killed civilians at the highest rate in the U.S., logging 13.6 killings per million people, compared to the U.S. average of 3.6.<ref name=bbc-20161214>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38309192 |title=Bakersfield police shoot pensioner carrying crucifix |work=BBC News |date=December 14, 2016 |access-date=December 15, 2016 |archive-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214235022/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38309192 |url-status=live }}</ref> In all, 13 people were killed in 2015 by BPD Officers and 27 people were killed by law enforcement officers in Kern County, which has a population of approximately 900,000.<ref>{{cite web |title=2015 Police Violence Report |url=https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/2015/ |website=Mapping Police Violence |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606174622/https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/2015/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Guardian reported that law enforcement officers in Kern County, California, killed more people per capita than in any other American county in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/01/the-county-kern-county-deadliest-police-killings |title=The County: the story of America's deadliest police |author=Jon Swaine |newspaper=the Guardian |date=December 2015 |access-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214042954/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/01/the-county-kern-county-deadliest-police-killings |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Fire ====
The Bakersfield Fire Department has 14 stations spread across the city.<ref name=stations>{{cite web |title=Bakersfield Fire Department |url=https://www.cafirefighters.com/bakersfield.htm |website=California Firefighters |access-date=March 3, 2015 |archive-date=February 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205052637/http://cafirefighters.com/bakersfield.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Bakersfield Fire Department's communications division, known as ECC (Emergency Communications Center), is located in the Whiting Communications Center in Northeast Bakersfield. ECC is a joint dispatch center for the Kern County, Bakersfield City, and [[California City, California|California City]] Fire Departments. Built in 1988, ECC is responsible for dispatching resources over approximately {{convert|8100|sqmi|km2}}, including 65 fire stations. ECC's approximate call volume is 82,000 calls annually, and it processes emergency and non-emergency fire and medical 911 calls for the entire county of Kern.<ref name=disp>{{cite web |url=http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/fire/fireprevent/emergecomm.htm |title=Emergency Communications Center |work=Bakersfield Fire Department |access-date=February 2, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060305025301/http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/fire/fireprevent/emergecomm.htm |archive-date=March 5, 2006}}</ref>

The Kern County Fire Department (KCFD) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the county of Kern, California, USA. With over 625 permanent employees and 100 extra help employees protecting an area spanning over {{convert|8000|sqmi|}}. KCFD provides fire protection services for over 500,000 citizens living in the unincorporated areas of Kern County and the cities of [[Arvin, California|Arvin]], [[Delano, California|Delano]], [[Maricopa, California|Maricopa]], [[McFarland, California|McFarland]], [[Ridgecrest, California|Ridgecrest]], [[Shafter, California|Shafter]], [[Taft, California|Taft]], [[Tehachapi, California|Tehachapi]] and [[Wasco, California|Wasco]]. This agency is contracted to provide dispatch services for the California City Fire Department, Kern Ambulance based in Wasco, and Care Ambulance based in [[Lake Isabella, California|Lake Isabella]]. Over 546 uniformed firefighters are stationed in 46 fire stations throughout the county.

Due to the vast number of [[county island]]s and jagged city limit lines in the south part of Bakersfield, the closest fire station is dispatched to incidents. This often results in city resources being dispatched to county locations and vice versa.

=== Crime ===
{{further|Bakersfield Police Department}}
The number of violent crimes recorded by the Bakersfield Police Department in its 2008 Crime Reports was 5,961.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/police/crime_stats_app/index.html |title=Crime Statistics for Bakersfield |work=Bakersfield Police Department |date=2009 |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012012425/http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/police/crime_stats_app/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 27 of those were murders and [[homicides]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bakersfield.com/images/maps/other/homicide/x801452993/Homicides-up-for-2008 |title=Homicides up for 2008 |publisher=The Bakersfield Californian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402163805/http://www.bakersfield.com/archive/x801452993/Homicides-up-for-2008 |archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref> Data collected by Bakersfield Police Department, an anti-gang program under the city of Bakersfield, shows that the city of Bakersfield has experienced an increase in [[gang]] membership and gang activity since the early 2000s.

==== Jails ====
The [[Bakersfield Police Department]] has a holding area, but [[inmate]]s are transported to the [[Kern County]] Central Receiving Facility in Bakersfield. Sentenced criminals are held outside the city's limits at the Lerdo Detention Facility.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jailinfo.org/index.php/Kern_County |title=Jails In Bakersfield / Kern County |work=source |date=2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428120535/http://www.jailinfo.org/index.php/Kern_County |archive-date=April 28, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Kern County Sheriff's Office, Detentions Bureau has an average daily inmate population of approximately 2,500 inmates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/Pages/default.aspx |title=Inmate population |work=Kern County Sheriff's – Detentions |date=2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100927042654/http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=September 27, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The primary facility for receiving inmates arrested in the Bakersfield area is the Central Receiving Facility.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/CRF/Pages/default.aspx |title=Kern Sheriff – Central Receiving Facility |date=2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924004918/http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/CRF/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=September 24, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition, there is the Lerdo Complex, which consists of three facilities:
# The Lerdo Minimum Security Facility holds inmates of lower security levels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/Lerdo/Minimum/Pages/default.aspx |title=Kern Sheriff – Minimum Security |date=2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100927073841/http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/Lerdo/Minimum/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=September 27, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
#The Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility holds inmates of higher security levels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/Lerdo/PreTrial/Pages/default.aspx |title=Kern Sheriff – Pre-Trial Facility |date=2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219025823/http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/Lerdo/PreTrial/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=December 19, 2016}}</ref>
#The Lerdo Max/Med Security Facility holds overflow inmates from the Pre-Trial Facility.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/Lerdo/MaxMed/Pages/default.aspx |title=Kern Sheriff – Max-Med Security |date=2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100927073836/http://www.kernsheriff.com/Detentions/Lerdo/MaxMed/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=September 27, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>