A Report from the City Auditor
Issued April 2026
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor
Presenters: Joe Rois, City Auditor
Gitanjali Mandrekar, Assistant City Auditor
Michael O’Connell, Jr., Program Performance Auditor II
Dilnoza Khudoyberganova, Program Performance Auditor II Public Safety, Strategic Support and Finance Committee
Agenda Item (d) 2.
City Auditor’s Office, 1
Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload
Follow-Up Report
Background
• This is a follow-up to the 2021 audit: Police
Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload: Staffing
Reductions Have Impacted Response Times and Led
to High Overtime Costs
• The objective was to review the Police
Department’s staffing, spending, and calls for
service over time, including the allocation of
staff by bureau or division, and use of overtime
City Auditor’s Office, 2
Background
• In FY 2024-25, the Department’s overall
expenditures totaled $561 million
• Budgeted staffing levels in the San José
Police Department are lower than 20
years ago
• Recent turnover has led to vacancies and
a decline in the number of active sworn
officers.
1,342 1,172
447 570
0 400
800
1,200
1,600
2,000
San José Police Department Budgeted Staffing
Over Time
Non-sworn
Sworn
City Auditor’s Office, 3
Finding 1: The Department Is Using Multiple Strategies to Improve Response Times
• In FY 2024-25, the average response time for
Priority 1 calls was 8.1 minutes, exceeding the
6-minute target
• Like the 2021 audit, calls for service and
response times varied across Police districts
• The Department has initiated a redistricting
effort and piloted other efforts to improve
performance
• Current response time calculations include
downgraded calls, which may not provide the
most accurate indicator of performance
Recommendations: The Police
Department should:
→ Include outcomes from its
redistricting efforts in future
focus area reporting
→ Update response time
reporting to exclude
downgraded calls
City Auditor’s Office, 4
Finding 2: The Department Continues to Face Staffing
Challenges and Relies on Overtime to Meet Operational Needs • Rising separation rates among recruits and
early-career officers has led to fewer active
sworn staff
• Patrol shifts were routinely staffed on overtime
and nearly ¼ of all hours worked by sworn staff
was on overtime
• In FY 2024-25, overtime costs reached $72
million—a 53 percent increase from the 2021
audit
• Recent changes to overtime controls provide
new guidance on report writing and follow-up
oversight
Recommendations: The Police
Department should:
→ Augment current reporting
with outcomes of current
hiring and retention efforts.
→ Develop a process to
monitor compliance with
overtime approvals.
City Auditor’s Office, 5
Finding 3: Community Service Officers Continue to
Be a Valuable Resource for the Department
• The Department does not currently track
performance metrics to assess the
Community Service Officer (CSO) program’s
effectiveness
• Addressing inconsistencies between Duty
Manual designated CSO dispatchable call
types and actual field response can support
more effective deployment
Recommendations: the Police
Department should:
→ Develop and track
performance metrics for the
CSO program
→ Update the CSO-dispatchable
call list in the Duty Manual
City Auditor’s Office, 6
Conclusion
Our audit report includes a total of 8 recommendations.
We would like to thank the Police Department for their time and insight during the audit process.
The audit report is available at www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor City Auditor’s Office, 7