May 27, 2025
Police Department
DATE: May 27, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Bisa French, Chief of Police
Subject:
Three-year Contract with San Joaquin Delta College
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The estimated expenditure of $75,000 will be budgeted appropriately within the Police Department operational
budget for Fiscal Years 2025-2026, 2026-2027, and
2027-2028 - account String 01191021-400243.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
n/a
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The Police Department is requesting City Council
approval of a contract with San Joaquin Delta Community College District to enroll police recruits into their Basic Peace Officer Academy.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE a contract with San Joaquin Delta Community
College District for biannual enrollment of police
department recruits into the Basic Peace Officer
Academy, in an amount not to exceed $75,000, for a
three-year term from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028, plus two one-year extension options for an amount not to
exceed $50,000 – Police Department (Chief Bisa French
510-621-1802).
AGENDA
REPORT
May 27, 2025
DISCUSSION:
The Richmond Police Department (RPD) continuously recruits qualified police officer candidates to join the department. One proven mechanism to retain talented and educated candidates is to sponsor police officer trainees through a police officer academy. Candidates must meet the minimum age and physical requirements and pass the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Entry-Level Law Enforcement Test Battery (PELLETB) exam to be eligible to enroll into an academy. Candidates who have sponsorship from a local law enforcement agency have priority enrollment into some academies.
San Joaquin Delta College Basic Peace Officer Academy is accredited by the State of California’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and is located in Stockton, California. The academy’s training program is integrated with RPD’s field training requirements. Cadets trained at this academy receive standardized instruction that is consistent with our department’s operational procedures. The intensive academy is six months long, consisting of an orientation and three separate modules - the estimated expense per cadet is currently $4,423. Police Department staff are estimating an expenditure of roughly $25,000 each fiscal year, or just over 5 trainees, but based on recruitment efforts, the estimate may vary from year to year.
Training academy instruction courses such as, San Joaquin Delta College Post Academy, have limited dates and availability. If Police Department staff were to recruit a Police Officer Trainee, the Trainee would need to wait until the next available academy instruction course. The availability and time constraints of other training facilities could negatively impact recruitment and hiring and may lead to a reduction in the number of potential hires that join the City of Richmond. For example, if a recruit is hired by the City as a Police Officer Trainee, and the academy course at the County Law Enforcement Training Center is full, the trainee would have to wait until another course is available, typically several months later, which would not only delay the trainee from becoming an officer, but could force the trainee to look for another city to work – trainee salaries are substantially less than officers’.
Based on the proximity, compatibility of existing programs, cost efficiency, and dates of availability – which would allow for greater recruitment opportunities - RPD staff recommends a sole source contract for biannual enrollment of qualifying candidates at San Joaquin Delta College Post Academy. A Sole Source Justification has been approved and signed by the Finance Department (Attachment 2).
May 27, 2025
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATTACHMENT 1 – Standard Contract
ATTACHMENT 2 – Sole Source