Bakersfield moves to open police chief recruitment to candidates outside BPD

A question that has long simmered among Bakersfield’s policy and opinion makers will likely be sent to the voters for an answer.

On Wednesday, the Bakersfield City Council will consider allowing voters to decide whether the city’s police and fire chiefs can be selected from outside the two departments. The Bakersfield city charter currently states the police and fire chiefs must be picked from within their respective departments, severely limiting the number of people who qualify for the jobs.