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E California

We obtained data on 58 California sheriff's departments.

Police Depts Sheriffs Depts
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Sheriff's Department Santa Clara County
34% SCORE

Scorecard at a Glance

Average for 4 Sections: 34%

Scores range from 0-100% comparing counties with 100-250k 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:  16%
Police Budget Cost per Person        
Misconduct Settlements        
Fines/Forfeitures        
Police Presence/Over-Policing (Officers per Population)        
Police Violence:  60%
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:  12%
Misconduct Complaints Upheld        
Excessive Force Complaints Upheld        
Discrimination Complaints Upheld        
Criminal Misconduct Complaints Upheld        
Approach to Law Enforcement:  47%
Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses        
Homicides Solved        
Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests        
Jail Incarceration Rate        
Jail Deaths per 1,000        

Key Findings

4 Killings by Police

That's a higher rate than 53% of US Sheriff Departments.

382 civilian complaints of police misconduct

9% were ruled in favor of civilians from 2016-21.

26,051 arrests made

64% of all arrests were for low-level, non-violent offenses from 2013-21.

Police Funding i

Section Score: 16% ▶-1%

Police Funding By Year

$186.92M  |  160,542 Residents  |  $1.16k per Resident

More Police Funding per Capita than 96% of Depts

Source: US Census Bureau

Number of officers per 1k population

1,189 Officers  |  74.1 per 10k Residents

More Officers per Population than 98% of Depts

Source: Federal LEOKA Database

Police violence i

Section Score: 60% ▶+24%

Police Shootings

More Police Shootings per Arrest than 39% of Depts

3 Shootings  |  2.1 every 100k arrests

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Deadly Force

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

^  More Killings by Police per Arrest than 53% of Depts   

Source: Mapping Police Violence

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

100% of Shootings from 2016-21 (3/3)

Source: CA Department of Justice

Deadly Force by Armed Status

25% Unarmed  |  75% Did Not Allegedly Have a Gun

Unarmed Other Alleged Gun Vehicle
25%
50%
25%

^  More Unarmed People Killed per Arrest than N/A of Depts   

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Police Violence by Race

Black Latinx N.Am API Other White

Population of Santa Clara County

26%
35%
32%

Santa Clara County Sheriff's Dept Demographics

39%
14%
8%
33%

People Arrested

10%
46%
11%
31%

People Killed

25%
25%
50%

^  More Racial Disparities in Deadly Force than 7% of Depts   

Source: Uniform Crime Report, Mapping Police Violence, LEMAS

Police Accountability i

Section Score: 12% ▶+21%

Source: CA Department of Justice

Total civilian complaints

382 from 2016-21  |  9% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

 

Complaints Not Sustained Complaints Sustained

Use of Force Complaints

87 Reported  |  1% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

Complaints of Misconduct in Jail

268 Reported  |  4% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

 

Complaints Reported Ruled in Favor of Civilians

Complaints of Police Discrimination

37 Reported  |  5% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

 

Complaints Reported Ruled in Favor of Civilians

Alleged Crimes Committed by Police

94 Reported  |  1% Ruled in Favor of Civilians

 

Complaints Reported Ruled in Favor of Civilians

Approach to Law Enforcement i

Section Score: 47% ▶-13%

Source: Uniform Crime Report

Arrests By Year

26,051 Arrests Reported from 2013-2021

Low Level Arrests Other Arrests

More Info

Arrests for Low Level Offenses

16,572 Arrests  |  15 per 1k residents

^  Higher Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses than 49% of Depts   

Percent of total arrests by type

All Arrests for Low Level Offenses ( 64% )

Drug Possession ( 20% )

Violent Crime ( 10% )

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Homicides Unsolved

18 Homicides from 2013-21  |  1 Unsolved

^  Solved Fewer Homicides than 78% of Depts   

Percent of Homicides Unsolved by Race

Homicides of Latinx Victims Unsolved ( 33% )

Homicides of White Victims Unsolved ( 11% )

Source: MAP/Supplementary Homicide Report

Deaths in Jail

35 Deaths from 2013-19  |  11 per 1k Jail Population

Homicide Suicide Other Investigating

20%
77%

^ Higher Rate of Jail Deaths than 48% of Depts   

Jail Incarceration rate

3,938 Avg Daily Jail Population  |  20 per 1k residents

^  More than 98% of Sheriff's Depts  

People in Jail Without Being Convicted

62 % 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

0-29% 30-59% 60-69% 70-79% 80-89% 90-100% Incomplete
Sheriff's Department Score 5YR
55. Los Angeles County 27% ▶+3%
54. Alameda County 27%
53. Kern County 27% ▶+10%
52. San Diego County 28% ▶-15%
51. Fresno County 29% ▶+5%
50. Marin County 30% ▶+8%
49. Trinity County 31% ▶+13%
48. Sonoma County 31% ▶+4%
▶+14%
▶+9%
▶+10%
▶-10%
▶-16%
▶+11%
▶+4%
▶+8%
▶+2%
▶-6%
▶-5%
▶+19%
▶+6%
▶-6%
▶+6%
▶-18%
▶+5%
▶+9%
▶-1%
▶+5%
Sheriff's Department Score 5YR
26. Kings County 41% ▶+5%
25. San Bernardino County 41% ▶-3%
24. Santa Barbara County 41% ▶-12%
23. Mono County 42% ▶+5%
22. Plumas County 42% ▶+5%
21. Contra Costa County 42% ▶-14%
20. Nevada County 42% ▶+4%
19. Del Norte County 42% ▶+1%
▶-13%
▶-11%
▶-5%
▶+6%
▶-7%
▶+11%
▶+5%
▶-19%
▶+3%
▶-4%
▶-3%
▶+1%
▶-3%
▶-3%
▶+2%
▶+5%
▶-19%
▶-9%
▶+2%
▶+14%
▶-3%

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

Add New Data

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.