Santa Maria Police Department given an overall positive report on Office of Independent Review

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – The Santa Maria City Council received a presentation of an independent review report and audit of the police department.

“We were very impressed by the way the department looks,” said Julie Ruhlin with the Office of Independent Review. 

In the 39 page document, it discusses the review and audit of the Santa Maria’s Police Department’s leadership, management and supervision practices, emphasizing public transparency and more.

“We spend a lot of time looking at documents relating to two main categories,” said Ruhlin. “Uses of force and handling of allegations of officer’s misconduct.”

16 recommendations were provided for improvement, and the police department has already started to implement those recommendations to the department.

“This is something we are taking very seriously,” said retired Santa Maria Police Chief Phil Hansen.

Click here, to view the full report.