Bakersfield sits in California’s southern San Joaquin Valley at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, roughly two hours north of Los Angeles, with a population of over 410,000.1 The Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) protects the city with 512 sworn officers and more than 240 non-sworn personnel,9 working from headquarters at 1601 Truxtun Avenue and a west-side substation on Buena Vista Road and covering roughly 150 square miles.2 BPD is actively hiring Police Trainees, Academy Graduates, and Lateral Police Officers. Candidates interested in a career with the department will find application, testing, academy, and salary information below.

Bakersfield Police Officer Requirements

To be considered for a Police Officer position with the Bakersfield Police Department, applicants must meet the following minimum qualifications:3

  • Be 21 years of age at the time of appointment
  • Hold a US high school diploma or a GED equivalent
  • Be a US citizen, or a permanent resident alien who is eligible for and has filed for citizenship
  • Hold a valid California Class C driver’s license

Hiring proceeds in phases. Candidates apply online through the City of Bakersfield’s jobs portal and, once qualified, complete a written examination covering reading, writing, and logical reasoning, a physical agility test, and an oral interview.4 Applicants who advance move on to a background investigation, which includes a personal history statement, pre-investigation questionnaire, live-scan fingerprinting, credit check, and polygraph examination.4 Conditional offers are followed by medical and psychological evaluations. Lateral and academy-graduate applicants who hold a current California POST Basic Course certificate (issued within the past three years) may be appointed directly into the Police Officer classification under a streamlined track.3

For more on becoming an officer in a large city, see 10 Steps to Becoming a Police Officer on our home page. To review current openings and apply, visit the BPD recruitment site.

Bakersfield Police Academy

The Bakersfield Police Department operates its own POST-certified basic course at the BPD Academy Training Facility at 4646 California Avenue. Two academy cohorts are typically held each year, one starting in January and another in July.5 Each class completes more than 900 hours of instruction covering over 40 subjects before graduation.5 The curriculum is delivered by POST-certified instructors and covers criminal law and procedure (including penal, vehicle, and health-and-safety codes), emergency vehicle operations, firearms safety and marksmanship, tactics and officer safety, defensive tactics and arrest control, and lifesaving skills such as CPR, first aid, and emergency childbirth.5 Physical conditioning runs throughout the program.

After graduation, newly sworn officers move into the department’s Field Training Program, a 17-week, four-phase on-the-road evaluation that builds on the academy curriculum.5 Trainees rotate through phases covering department policy, patrol vehicle operation, firearms handling, communication with the community and supervisors, real-world application of the law, and response to critical incidents.5 The program length may be shortened for lateral officers who already have patrol experience.

Salary, Benefits, and Jobs Outlook

Police Trainees attend the academy on the city payroll and draw the Trainee monthly rate. Upon graduation and sworn appointment, pay shifts to the Police Officer classification range. Academy Graduates and Lateral applicants are appointed directly into the Police Officer classification. Published ranges from the department’s recruitment site are shown below.3

StepAnnual Base Salary*Monthly Base
Police Trainee (entry)$50,604$4,217
Police Trainee (top step)$61,514$5,126
Police Officer (entry, post-academy or lateral)$68,532$5,711
Police Officer (top step)$83,472$6,956

*The department publishes monthly pay only; annual figures shown here are calculated as monthly base times 12.

New officer hires are eligible for a $4,500 hiring bonus, and the city pays academy tuition plus uniforms and equipment necessary for patrol.3 Officers may also earn additional pay for bilingual ability, post-secondary education, and intermediate or advanced California POST certificates.

Benefits include medical and dental benefit options with a city contribution toward premiums, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, 10 vacation days after one year of service, one day of sick leave accrued per month of service up to a 120-day cap, and education reimbursement for job-related coursework.3 Retirement is provided through the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), and officers may also participate in a voluntary deferred compensation program.

California employment of police and sheriff’s patrol officers is projected to grow 3.4% from 2022 to 2032, with approximately 5,180 new positions added each year on average, according to Projections Central.6 Openings within BPD in any given year are also shaped by retirements, promotions, and the city’s public safety budget. For current Bakersfield-area law enforcement listings, visit our jobs board.

Career Advancement at BPD

All BPD officers begin as patrol officers and may, after completing probation, apply for specialty assignments within the department’s five divisions (Support Services, Investigations, Field Services, Special Operations, and Training and Logistics).2 Lateral-track assignments include the SWAT Team, Bomb Squad, K-9 Unit, Traffic Enforcement, Vice Unit, Special Enforcement Unit, School Resource Officers, Crisis Negotiations, IMPACT Team, and state and federal interagency task forces.7

Promotion proceeds through the classified civil service system under Kern County Civil Service rules. The sworn rank ladder runs Police Officer, Senior Police Officer, Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Chief, and Chief of Police.2 Promotional examinations are posted by the City of Bakersfield Human Resources Division. Specific step salaries for promoted ranks are set in the Bakersfield Police Officers Association memorandum and the city’s management compensation schedule.

Cities and Police Departments Near Bakersfield

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 1,230 police and sheriff’s patrol officers work in the Bakersfield-Delano metropolitan area, with a mean annual wage of $90,560.8 Officers living in or near Bakersfield can also explore law enforcement opportunities with several nearby agencies, including the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols the roughly 8,000 square miles of unincorporated Kern County from 13 substations; the Delano Police Department, about 32 miles north of Bakersfield; and the Visalia Police Department in neighboring Tulare County. For more information about police departments across the state, see our California page.

Additional Resources

Bakersfield Police Department Contact

1. US Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Bakersfield city, California (V2024): https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bakersfieldcitycalifornia/PST045224
2. Join BPD, Inside BPD: https://joinbpd.us/inside-bpd
3. Join BPD, Police Officer (requirements, salary, benefits, incentives): https://joinbpd.us/careers/police-officer
4. Join BPD, The Testing Process and FAQ: https://joinbpd.us/the-testing-process
5. Join BPD, The Training: https://joinbpd.us/the-training
6. Projections Central, Long-Term Occupational Projections, California, Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers, 2022-2032: https://projectionscentral.org/longterm
7. Join BPD, Special Assignments listing on the Police Officer page: https://joinbpd.us/careers/police-officer
8. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Bakersfield-Delano, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area: https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0012540/
9. City of Bakersfield, “VIDEO: Brent Stratton named new Chief of Police,” news release, March 6, 2026: https://www.bakersfieldcity.us/?contentId=7899bc7a-fb70-46a2-8718-c3b6b66b842f