Which California police departments have the most documented misconduct records? This ranking covers all 100 jurisdictions with verified data in the PoliWatch database — compiled from the Fatal Encounters public dataset covering 2015–2024.
Records represent verified incidents where law enforcement use of force resulted in a fatality or serious harm, as reported in public datasets. Rankings reflect cumulative record counts; higher counts may reflect both prevalence of incidents and population size.
Top 10 — Highest Record Volume
| # | Jurisdiction | Total Records | Years Active | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles 11 in 2024 | 157 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 2 | Bakersfield 3 in 2024 | 41 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 3 | San Diego 3 in 2024 | 38 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 4 | Fresno 4 in 2024 | 36 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 5 | San Bernardino 2 in 2024 | 30 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 6 | Sacramento 2 in 2024 | 27 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 7 | Long Beach 4 in 2024 | 27 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 8 | San Francisco 2 in 2024 | 26 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 9 | San Jose 1 in 2024 | 26 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 10 | Stockton 4 in 2023 | 20 | 2015–2023 | View → |
Ranks 11–25
| # | Jurisdiction | Total Records | Years Active | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Anaheim 2 in 2024 | 18 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 12 | Oakland 1 in 2024 | 14 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 13 | Santa Ana 1 in 2024 | 14 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 14 | Redding 1 in 2023 | 14 | 2016–2023 | View → |
| 15 | Fontana 2 in 2024 | 14 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 16 | Modesto | 13 | 2015–2022 | View → |
| 17 | Hemet 2 in 2024 | 12 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 18 | Lancaster 1 in 2024 | 11 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 19 | Victorville 3 in 2024 | 10 | 2018–2024 | View → |
| 20 | Riverside 1 in 2024 | 10 | 2017–2024 | View → |
| 21 | Ontario 1 in 2024 | 10 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 22 | Barstow | 9 | 2015–2021 | View → |
| 23 | Hesperia 1 in 2024 | 9 | 2017–2024 | View → |
| 24 | Palmdale 1 in 2024 | 8 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 25 | Fremont | 8 | 2015–2021 | View → |
Ranks 26–50
| # | Jurisdiction | Total Records | Years Active | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Rialto 1 in 2023 | 7 | 2015–2023 | View → |
| 27 | Hayward 1 in 2023 | 7 | 2016–2023 | View → |
| 28 | Pasadena 1 in 2024 | 7 | 2018–2024 | View → |
| 29 | Chula Vista 1 in 2024 | 7 | 2016–2024 | View → |
| 30 | Visalia | 6 | 2015–2021 | View → |
| 31 | Jurupa Valley 2 in 2024 | 6 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 32 | Van Nuys | 6 | 2015–2021 | View → |
| 33 | Pomona 1 in 2024 | 6 | 2017–2024 | View → |
| 34 | Redlands 1 in 2024 | 6 | 2016–2024 | View → |
| 35 | Torrance 1 in 2024 | 6 | 2016–2024 | View → |
| 36 | Citrus Heights 1 in 2023 | 6 | 2015–2023 | View → |
| 37 | Azusa | 6 | 2015–2022 | View → |
| 38 | Napa | 6 | 2015–2020 | View → |
| 39 | Chino 1 in 2024 | 6 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 40 | Vallejo | 6 | 2015–2022 | View → |
| 41 | San Leandro 1 in 2023 | 5 | 2019–2023 | View → |
| 42 | Beaumont | 5 | 2016–2021 | View → |
| 43 | Corona 1 in 2024 | 5 | 2018–2024 | View → |
| 44 | Carmichael 1 in 2024 | 5 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 45 | Inglewood 1 in 2023 | 5 | 2016–2023 | View → |
| 46 | Salinas 1 in 2023 | 5 | 2017–2023 | View → |
| 47 | Antioch | 5 | 2015–2021 | View → |
| 48 | Rancho Cucamonga 1 in 2024 | 5 | 2020–2024 | View → |
| 49 | Red Bluff 1 in 2023 | 5 | 2018–2023 | View → |
| 50 | Fullerton 1 in 2024 | 5 | 2016–2024 | View → |
Ranks 51–100
| # | Jurisdiction | Total Records | Years Active | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Gardena | 5 | 2017–2022 | View → |
| 52 | Huntington Beach | 5 | 2017–2021 | View → |
| 53 | Compton 1 in 2024 | 5 | 2016–2024 | View → |
| 54 | Whittier | 5 | 2015–2021 | View → |
| 55 | Eureka 2 in 2024 | 5 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 56 | Escondido 1 in 2023 | 5 | 2017–2023 | View → |
| 57 | Sunnyvale 1 in 2024 | 5 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 58 | Santa Maria 1 in 2023 | 5 | 2015–2023 | View → |
| 59 | Moreno Valley 1 in 2023 | 5 | 2015–2023 | View → |
| 60 | El Cajon 1 in 2024 | 5 | 2016–2024 | View → |
| 61 | Lompoc 1 in 2023 | 5 | 2016–2023 | View → |
| 62 | Santa Clarita 1 in 2023 | 5 | 2016–2023 | View → |
| 63 | Chico | 5 | 2015–2020 | View → |
| 64 | El Monte 1 in 2024 | 5 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 65 | Ceres 1 in 2024 | 4 | 2016–2024 | View → |
| 66 | Lake Elsinore | 4 | 2016–2019 | View → |
| 67 | Indio | 4 | 2015–2019 | View → |
| 68 | Delano | 4 | 2015–2021 | View → |
| 69 | Huntington Park | 4 | 2016–2022 | View → |
| 70 | Rancho Cordova 1 in 2024 | 4 | 2016–2024 | View → |
| 71 | Perris 1 in 2024 | 4 | 2019–2024 | View → |
| 72 | Oxnard 3 in 2023 | 4 | 2015–2023 | View → |
| 73 | Burbank 1 in 2023 | 4 | 2015–2023 | View → |
| 74 | Highland | 4 | 2017–2021 | View → |
| 75 | Tulare 1 in 2023 | 4 | 2017–2023 | View → |
| 76 | Madera | 4 | 2017–2022 | View → |
| 77 | South Gate | 4 | 2015–2017 | View → |
| 78 | Atwater 1 in 2023 | 4 | 2015–2023 | View → |
| 79 | East Los Angeles 3 in 2024 | 4 | 2018–2024 | View → |
| 80 | Cerritos 1 in 2024 | 3 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 81 | Cathedral City | 3 | 2015–2019 | View → |
| 82 | La Habra 1 in 2023 | 3 | 2019–2023 | View → |
| 83 | La Quinta | 3 | 2016–2021 | View → |
| 84 | San Fernando | 3 | 2016–2021 | View → |
| 85 | San Ysidro | 3 | 2015–2020 | View → |
| 86 | Irvine 2 in 2024 | 3 | 2016–2024 | View → |
| 87 | Joshua Tree 1 in 2023 | 3 | 2018–2023 | View → |
| 88 | Apple Valley 1 in 2024 | 3 | 2015–2024 | View → |
| 89 | Richmond | 3 | 2017–2020 | View → |
| 90 | Banning 1 in 2024 | 3 | 2019–2024 | View → |
| 91 | Sand City | 3 | 2015–2022 | View → |
| 92 | Rancho Mirage | 3 | 2019–2020 | View → |
| 93 | Porterville 1 in 2023 | 3 | 2015–2023 | View → |
| 94 | Pittsburg | 3 | 2018–2021 | View → |
| 95 | Pleasanton | 3 | 2015–2022 | View → |
| 96 | Oildale 1 in 2024 | 3 | 2020–2024 | View → |
| 97 | Norco 1 in 2024 | 3 | 2017–2024 | View → |
| 98 | Colton 1 in 2024 | 3 | 2016–2024 | View → |
| 99 | Newark 1 in 2023 | 3 | 2016–2023 | View → |
| 100 | Orange | 3 | 2015–2019 | View → |
Explore the Data Further
Statistics Dashboard →
Interactive charts, armed status breakdowns, and 10-year trends for California.
Browse All Jurisdictions →
Search and filter records across 400+ California cities.
2024 Year in Review →
Deep dive into the most recent year of California data.
Search All Records →
Full-text search across 1,405+ verified misconduct records.
Methodology & Data Sources
This ranking is compiled from the Fatal Encounters dataset — a crowdsourced nonprofit database of deaths associated with law enforcement interactions in the United States. PoliWatch imports and publishes this data to make it searchable and linkable.
Rankings use all-time cumulative record counts from 2015 through 2024. Only jurisdictions with records in the PoliWatch database appear in this list. "Jurisdiction" corresponds to the city or county listed in the original dataset — this may represent city police departments, county sheriff's offices, or other law enforcement agencies operating in that area.
Per-capita rates are not included due to varying population data availability. This list reflects raw volume only. All 1,405 California records used in this ranking are publicly accessible via the PoliWatch records database.
Last updated: May 2026. Data reflects records through the Fatal Encounters 2024 dataset release. Submit additional records →