The San Jose police chief is Paul Joseph, who was appointed permanent chief on October 28, 2024, after serving as interim chief since the previous March.1San Jose Police Department. Office of the Chief of Police He runs a department of roughly 1,170 sworn officers and nearly 580 civilian staff, one of the largest municipal police forces in California, with an annual budget that topped $560 million in fiscal year 2024–2025.2Police Executive Research Forum. San Jose Chief of Police Recruitment Brochure Under San José’s council-manager form of government, the chief reports to the City Manager rather than to the mayor.3City of San José. Office of the City Manager
Who Paul Joseph Is
Joseph joined SJPD in 1994 after two and a half years as an officer in San Mateo. He grew up in Los Angeles, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Cal State Northridge, and holds a law degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Across three decades at the department he worked patrol, narcotics, SWAT, and robbery investigations. As a sergeant he supervised patrol and field training. As a lieutenant he led robbery and homicide.
He was promoted to assistant chief in 2021 and worked on transparency measures following officer misconduct scandals, including an independent audit of hiring and background-check practices and random audits of body-camera footage.4San Jose Police Department. Body Camera Information When Chief Anthony Mata retired on March 31, 2024, Joseph took over as interim chief. City Manager Jennifer Maguire named him permanent chief that October, and the City Council confirmed the choice.5City of San José. New Police Chief’s Innovative Solutions to Quality Public Safety Services Will Continue to Enhance Community Relations and Support the Department
How the Chief Gets the Job
Because San José uses a council-manager government, the City Manager — not the mayor — has the authority to appoint the police chief.3City of San José. Office of the City Manager A nationwide search is typically run by an executive search firm; the Police Executive Research Forum handled the most recent recruitment.
The minimum qualifications call for a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, law, public administration, political science, or a related field, plus at least five years of command experience at the highest levels of a large municipal police department. A master’s in public administration or a related field is considered highly desirable.6Police Executive Research Forum. Chief of Police Candidates go through multiple interview rounds, including panels of community members and law enforcement experts. The City Manager picks a finalist, and the City Council confirms. Once confirmed, the chief serves at will under the City Manager.
What the Chief Does
The chief sits at the top of a command structure that includes an assistant chief, four deputy chiefs, and a civilian deputy director overseeing operations divided into four bureaus.7San Jose Police Department. Department Information Day to day, that means reviewing crime data, deploying patrol across the city’s districts, and setting longer-term priorities for community safety.
One of the role’s most consequential powers is setting the department’s use-of-force policy and the rest of the rules codified in the SJPD Duty Manual.8San Jose Police Department. Duty Manual Revisions – Use of Force Those policies have to line up with state law, including Senate Bill 2, which took effect in January 2022 and created California’s peace officer decertification program. Under that law, the chief must report to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) when an officer is arrested for a felony, discharged for serious misconduct, or separates while a misconduct investigation is pending.9Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. Peace Officer Certification Actions
The chief alone approves officers for off-duty security and law enforcement work through the Secondary Employment Unit, which is attached directly to the chief’s office. Officers cannot work for any outside employer that hasn’t gone through the department’s approval process, and off-duty employment at any business whose primary trade is selling alcohol is prohibited outright.10San Jose Police Department. Secondary Employment Unit Procedures Guide The chief can also open internal investigations and recommend discipline up to and including termination for sworn and civilian employees alike.
New hires must meet statewide minimum selection standards set by POST under the Penal Code and Commission Regulations.11Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. Peace Officer Candidate Selection Standards The chief runs the recruitment pipeline and is responsible for making sure those standards hold at every stage of hiring.
Who the Chief Answers To
The chief reports directly to the City Manager, who evaluates performance against public safety outcomes and the city’s broader strategic goals. The City Council adds a second layer by approving the department’s annual budget and passing ordinances that govern law enforcement. The mayor sets administration-wide policy priorities, but under the council-manager system the mayor has no direct operational control over the department.
The main independent check is the Office of the Independent Police Auditor, created by the city charter in 1993. The IPA reviews and audits Internal Affairs investigations for thoroughness, objectivity, and fairness, and acts as a bridge between the community and the department on misconduct complaints.12City of San José. Independent Police Auditor – About The auditor is appointed by the City Council to a four-year term and operates independently of the chief.13City of San José. City of San Jose – Independent Police Auditor Charter IPA public reports on department trends and policy give residents a view into how misconduct complaints and use-of-force incidents are handled.
At the state level, POST can suspend or revoke an officer’s certification based on findings by the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board, with annual public reporting on investigations and revocations.14Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. Decertification Process The chief’s mandatory reporting duty to POST means accountability doesn’t begin and end at City Hall.
The Staffing Problem Defining the Job
The department’s $561 million budget in fiscal 2024–2025 is being eaten away by overtime. Between June 2024 and June 2025, SJPD spent $72 million on overtime, up 53% from five years earlier, and a quarter of all hours worked by sworn staff during that period was overtime. The driver is the gap between budgeted positions and officers actually on the street.
As of early 2025, SJPD had 998 active sworn officers (not counting recruits) against 1,172 budgeted positions, leaving about 120 open slots. That’s the department’s highest vacancy rate since voters approved the pension reform measure known as Measure B in 2012, which raised employee contributions and created a lower-benefit retirement tier for new hires. It contributed to recruiting and retention problems the department is still trying to reverse.
Residents feel the shortage. Average response time to the highest-priority calls sits around eight minutes, and the department hits its six-minute target only about 45% of the time. Joseph has pointed to expanded reporting requirements and a shift toward de-escalation tactics as factors adding hours to officers’ workloads. The San José Police Officers’ Association, which represents roughly 1,161 positions from officer through captain, has argued overtime will stay unavoidable until hiring catches up.15City of San José. San Jose Police Officers Association To pull in lateral hires from other agencies, the department now offers signing bonuses of up to $20,000, paid in installments across a new officer’s first year.16San Jose Police Department. $20,000 Lateral Hiring Bonus Closing a 120-officer gap is the problem that will shape much of Joseph’s time as chief.