Police and sheriff · California

Law Enforcement Agencies in Kern County, California

22 agenciesFBI UCR list

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program lists 22 law enforcement agencies in Kern County, California: the county sheriff's office, 12 city or town police departments, 6 state police posts, 1 campus police department and 2 other agencies.

Sheriff's Office and County Police in Kern County

  • Kern County Sheriff's OfficeCounty sheriff or police · ORI CA0150000 · NIBRS since 2025

City and Town Police Departments in Kern County

  • Arvin Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0150100
  • Bakersfield Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0150200 · NIBRS since 2022
  • Bear Valley Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0151500 · NIBRS since 2022
  • California City Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0151100 · NIBRS since 2022
  • Delano Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0150300 · NIBRS since 2021
  • McFarland Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0150500 · NIBRS since 2022
  • Ridgecrest Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0150600 · NIBRS since 2021
  • Shafter Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0150700 · NIBRS since 2022
  • Stallion Springs Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0151400
  • Taft Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0150800 · NIBRS since 2022
  • Tehachapi Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0150900 · NIBRS since 2022
  • Wasco Police DepartmentCity or town police · ORI CA0151000 · NIBRS since 2024

State Police in Kern County

  • Highway Patrol: Bakersfield Area OfficeState police · ORI CA0159920 · NIBRS since 2021
  • Highway Patrol: Buttonwillow Area OfficeState police · ORI CA0159926 · NIBRS since 2021
  • Highway Patrol: Fort Tejon Area OfficeState police · ORI CA0159960 · NIBRS since 2021
  • Highway Patrol: Grapevine Commercial Vehicle Enforcement FacilityState police · ORI CA0159924 · NIBRS since 2021
  • Highway Patrol: Kern County Auto Theft Task ForceState police · ORI CA0159912 · NIBRS since 2021
  • Highway Patrol: Mojave Area OfficeState police · ORI CA0159930 · NIBRS since 2021

College and University Police in Kern County

  • California State University: BakersfieldCollege or university police · ORI CA0151200 · NIBRS since 2022

Other Law Enforcement Agencies in Kern County

  • Kern High School DistrictOther agency · ORI CA0152100 · NIBRS since 2022
  • Union Pacific Railroad: Kern CountyOther agency · ORI CA0152200 · NIBRS since 2025

Where People Arrested in Kern County Are Held

In most U.S. counties, adults arrested by city police, the sheriff or state troopers are booked into the county jail first. Some larger cities run their own holding jail, so if a person is not on the county roster, call the arresting department.

Law Enforcement in Other California Counties

Agency names, types and ORI codes come from the FBI Crime Data Explorer agency list, retrieved November 2026. NIBRS dates show when an agency began reporting incident-level crime data to the FBI.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many police departments are in Kern County?
The FBI lists 22 law enforcement agencies in Kern County, including 12 city or town police departments. The full list is on this page.
Who runs the jail in Kern County?
In most counties the sheriff runs the county jail. In Kern County that is the Kern County Sheriff's Office. See Kern County Jail on this site for the jail's roster or contact details.
What is an ORI number?
An ORI is the nine-character identifier the FBI assigns to each law enforcement agency for crime reporting, for example CA0150000. It is useful when you request records or read crime statistics.