The “New” Bakersfield Police Department Qualification -- An Update

In an earlier post, I used the term “old” to describe the Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) qualification that I was discussing because I had seen several internet sources describing what they said was the “new” BPD qualification. At the time, I did not believe that the discussions concerning the new qualification were accurate since from my research, the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) requires a minimum of thirty-six rounds to be fired at five, seven, and fifteen yards with the handgun (LD 35 of the PC 832 Arrest and Firearms Training Specifications).

I mentioned in my article that I could find no official document concerning the current BPD qualification course of fire and asked for official references that provided this information. In the article, I also mentioned Bob Jewell’s well-researched article in the July 2024 edition of USCCA’s Concealed Carry Magazine which provided additional information and some pictures of Mike Waidelich, the Bakersfield Officer that created the “old” qualification.*

Long story short, Bob contacted me and we discussed the current status of the BPD qualification. The current BPD qualification is as follows:

• Stage 1: Two rounds at 10 feet in 2 seconds

• Stage 2: Two rounds at 20 feet in 3 seconds

• Stage 3: Two rounds, combat reload and two rounds at 30 feet in 7 seconds

• Stage 4: Two rounds at 60 feet in 4 seconds

Per Bob, the BPD rangemaster stated that the department is now using the more readily available IPSC/USPSA target rather than the older Waidelich-designed target. There are no longer any penalties for time over the limit as in Waidelich’s original qualification because the BPD now uses a turning target system. Officers must score 80 or better to pass using the following scoring:

• A-Zone: 10 points

• C-Zone: 9 points

• D-Zone: 6 points

How does this qualification fit within the California POST requirement mentioned above? Per my conversation with Bob Jewell, the BPD fires their qualification quarterly with BPD Officers firing each ten round qualification three times (30 rounds). Their qualification score is the average of the three runs. The April 2024 update to California POST LD 35 of the PC 832 Arrest and Firearms Training specification requires peace officers to fire a minimum of 30 rounds of service ammunition using a presenter approved service handgun, with acceptable accuracy standards and under time restrictions the firearms instructor establishes. In other words, the new BPD qualification does meet California POST April 2024 updated requirements.

Bob mentioned that in mid 2024, the BPD began awarding a coin to any officer who shot a perfect score on the qualification three times in a row. Bob indicated that as of December 2024, the BPD had only awarded coins to two officers. The BPD gave Bob the opportunity to shoot the “new” qualification and he successfully did so with three perfect runs on October 13, 2024—thus earning him a coin. Way to go Bob!

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* https://www.firearmtrainerpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/USCCA-July-2024-Waidelich.pdf