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We obtained data on 58 California sheriff's departments.

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Scorecard at a Glance

Average for 4 Sections: 42%

Scores range from 0-100% comparing counties with over 250k population. Counties with higher scores spend less on policing, use less force, are more likely to hold officers accountable and make fewer arrests for low-level offenses.

Worse
50th Percentile
Better
Police Funding:  43%
Police Budget Cost per Person        
Misconduct Settlements        
Fines/Forfeitures        
Police Presence/Over-Policing (Officers per Population)        
Police Violence:  46%
Force Used per Arrest        
Deadly Force per Arrest        
Unarmed Victims of Deadly Force per Arrest        
Racial Disparities in Deadly Force        
Worse
50th Percentile
Better
Police Accountability:  41%
Misconduct Complaints Upheld        
Excessive Force Complaints Upheld        
Discrimination Complaints Upheld        
Criminal Misconduct Complaints Upheld        
Approach to Law Enforcement:  39%
Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses        
Homicides Solved        
Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests        
Jail Incarceration Rate        
Jail Deaths per 1,000        

Key Findings

Police Funding i

43% +10%

Police Funding By Year

$97.72M  |  300,829 Residents  |  $383 per Resident

More Police Funding per Capita than 69% of Depts

Funds Spent On Misconduct Settlements

$201k per year from 2012-14  |  $6,679 per 10k population

^  More Spending due to Misconduct than 17% of Depts   

Number of officers per 1k population

639 Officers  |  21.2 per 10k Residents

More Officers per Population than 69% of Depts

Police violence i

46% -12%

Police Shootings

More Police Shootings per Arrest than 25% of Depts

6 Shootings  |  1.9 every 100k arrests

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Less-Lethal Force

Used More Force per Arrest than 27% of Depts

259 Incidents  |  70 every 10k arrests  |  +560%

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Deadly Force

7 Killings by Police from 2013-21  |  1.4 every 10k arrests

^  More Killings by Police per Arrest than 42% of Depts   

Police Shootings Where Police Did Not Try Non-Deadly Force Before Shooting

83% of Shootings from 2016-21 (5/6)

Deadly Force by Armed Status

14% Unarmed  |  57% Did Not Allegedly Have a Gun

Unarmed Other Alleged Gun Vehicle
14%
29%
43%
14%

^  More Unarmed People Killed per Arrest than 55% of Depts   

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Police Violence by Race

Black Latinx N.Am API Other White

Population of Contra Costa County

8%
25%
16%
44%

Contra Costa County Sheriff's Dept Demographics

7%
15%
71%

People Arrested

26%
22%
7%
43%

People Killed

43%
14%
14%
14%
14%

^  More Racial Disparities in Deadly Force than 98% of Depts   

Police Accountability i

41% -33%

Total civilian complaints

53 from 2016-21  |  26% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

 

Complaints Not Sustained Complaints Sustained

Use of Force Complaints

11 Reported  |  9% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

Complaints of Misconduct in Jail

27 Reported  |  30% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

 

Complaints Reported Ruled in Favor of Civilians

Complaints of Police Discrimination

2 Reported  |  0% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

 

Complaints Reported Ruled in Favor of Civilians

Alleged Crimes Committed by Police

4 Reported  |  50% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

 

Complaints Reported Ruled in Favor of Civilians

Approach to Law Enforcement i

39% -22%

Arrests By Year

45,103 Arrests Reported from 2013-2021

Low Level Arrests Other Arrests

More Info

Arrests for Low Level Offenses

21,481 Arrests  |  10 per 1k residents

^  Higher Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses than 34% of Depts   

Percent of total arrests by type

All Arrests for Low Level Offenses ( 48% )

Drug Possession ( 15% )

Violent Crime ( 10% )

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Homicides Unsolved

58 Homicides from 2013-21  |  37 Unsolved

^  Solved Fewer Homicides than 9% of Depts   

Percent of Homicides Unsolved by Race

Homicides of Black Victims Unsolved ( 86% )

Homicides of Latinx Victims Unsolved ( 82% )

Homicides of White Victims Unsolved ( 40% )

Deaths in Jail

26 Deaths from 2013-19  |  20 per 1k Jail Population

Homicide Suicide Other Investigating

15%
42%
42%

^ Higher Rate of Jail Deaths than 92% of Depts   

Jail Incarceration rate

1,730 Avg Daily Jail Population  |  4 per 1k residents

^  More than 71% of Sheriff's Depts  

People Transferred to ICE from 2018-2021

114 people were transferred to ICE

Violent Crime Drug Offenses Other

22%
71%

People in Jail Without Being Convicted

53 % of People in Jail

California Sheriff's Department Scores

Rankings are based upon a 0 to 100 percentage scale. Departments with higher scores use less force, make fewer arrests for low level offenses, solve murder cases more often, hold officers more accountable and spend less on policing overall.

Overall Scores for Depts where We Have Obtained the Most Data.

Grade Scale Tap "show more" to see extended list

* An asterisk indicates this location did not publish enough data to evaluate. Click below to add data to the Scorecard.

About This Scorecard

This is the first nationwide evaluation of policing in the United States. It was built using data from state and federal databases, public records requests to local police departments, and media reports. While police data is never perfect, and there are additional indicators that still need to be tracked, the Police Scorecard is designed to provide insight into many important issues in policing.

 

Police Scorecard is an independent 501(c)(3) organization, learn more about our team here. If you have feedback, questions about the project, or need support with an advocacy campaign, contact our Founder, Samuel Sinyangwe.

methodology Source Data

 

Use this Scorecard to identify issues within police departments that require the most urgent interventions and hold officials accountable for implementing solutions. For example, cities with higher rates of low level arrests could benefit most from solutions that create alternatives to policing and arrest for these offenses. In cities where police make fewer arrests overall but use more force when making arrests, communities could benefit significantly from policies designed to hold police accountable for excessive force. And cities where complaints of police misconduct are rarely ruled in favor of civilians could benefit from creating an oversight structure to independently investigate these complaints.

 

Here's how to start pushing for change

  • Contact Your County Sheriff, share your scorecard with them and urge them to enact policies to address the issues you've identified:
    Advocacy Tip:  This state has a Police Bill of Rights law. These laws make it harder to hold police accountable. Call state legislators and tell them to repeal this law.
  • Look up your state and federal representatives below, then tell them to take action to hold police accountable in your community.