The San Fernando City Council has approved a comprehensive three-year Action Plan to strengthen the San Fernando Police Department’s operations, support its employees, and enhance professional, responsive, and accountable police services for the community.
Acting Police Chief John Perez presented the Action Plan during the City Council’s July 20 meeting. Its approval marks the next step in the City’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the Department and improve public safety services.
The plan builds on an independent organizational assessment that the City commissioned in 2025 to identify opportunities for improvement. Strategic Leadership Consultants conducted the comprehensive review of the Department’s policies, operations, and organizational systems.
The Police Department continues to implement the assessment’s recommendations, including improvements to supervision, employee training, critical-incident reviews, public complaints, technology, and transparency. As Acting Police Chief, Perez is leading the next phase of implementation, providing continuity between the assessment’s findings and the Department’s ongoing improvement efforts.
“The goal goes beyond adopting a plan—it is to improve daily police service and strengthen public trust,” Perez said. “That requires clear expectations for supervisors, timely reviews of critical incidents, better training, and officers who are visible and engaged in the community. We are putting systems in place to strengthen professionalism, promote fairness, and reduce risk throughout the Department.”
The first phase emphasizes stronger supervisory oversight, updated policies, and more timely reviews of use-of-force incidents, vehicle pursuits, public complaints, and other critical incidents. The Department is also improving how it tracks employee training, performance evaluations, and follow-through on important decisions.
“From the beginning, this process has been about responsible leadership and continuous improvement,” City Manager Kanika Kith said. “We did not wait for a crisis or external mandate to examine how the Department could improve. We took a proactive and independent approach so that our officers have the training, structure, and tools they need—and our community receives professional, responsive, and accountable police services.”
By approving the Action Plan and establishing regular public reporting, the City Council has reinforced its commitment to transparency, accountability, and sustained investment in public safety. SFPD will provide quarterly implementation updates beginning in October, allowing the Council and community to monitor progress and ensure the plan’s goals remain on track.
For the San Fernando community, these improvements are intended to produce practical results: officers who are visible and responsive, a stronger public-safety presence around schools and neighborhoods, fair and respectful treatment, reliable emergency communications, and a complaint process residents can easily understand and access.
Additional priorities include formal training and mentoring for supervisors, modernized patrol and dispatch technology, stronger emergency communications capabilities, and better coordination when officers encounter unhoused individuals who may need supportive services. The Department is also addressing staffing levels and extended shifts while planning increased police visibility and targeted traffic-safety efforts around schools and other areas identified by residents.
“Visibility is an important part of policing,” Perez added. “We want our officers interacting with residents, listening to the community, and being present where families live, work, and take their children to school. Community trust is built through those daily interactions and through fairness, transparency, and accountability.”