Stanislaus Sheriff’s advisory committee: Details sparse, but deadline approaches
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sheriff’s Office launched new 15-member advisory committee, applications due Sept. 5
- Advisory group formed without public input, prompting criticism from civic leaders
- Committee meetings will occur quarterly and remain closed to the public for now
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office is accepting applications for a new advisory committee.
Applications are due Sept. 5, according to a Facebook announcement posted Aug. 25. The application requires, among other information, an employment history, any criminal history, and a resume.
The purpose of the committee, the post says, is “to provide individual and group insight and recommendations to the Sheriff as it pertains to crime trends, reviewing new and revised policies, community events, hot topic events, deployment strategies, technology plans and strategies, review of complaint process and personnel complaint briefings and after-action reports after major events and incidents.”
Sheriff Jeff Dirkse said in a public comment given to the Board of Supervisors on July 1 that the intention of the committee is to advise his office on a variety of issues. He said at the time that more details would follow.
Dirkse said the committee was formed out of an earlier Project Resolve effort and he had “morphed it into what I call ‘Project Resolve 2.0’ today.”
“This has been something that’s been talked about for quite awhile,” said Sgt. Erich Layton, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office. “I can’t give you an exact date or year or month when it started, but it’s been discussed for quite some time.”
In an interview with The Modesto Bee editorial board in September 2023, Dirkse was asked about the MPD’s civilian review board.
He replied: “Good on ‘em; they can do whatever they want. But I don’t believe it’s going to change anything, and I don’t mean that in a negative way.
“The reason that most (officer-involved shootings) are not prosecuted is because most are legally justified. But people in my profession have made horrible mistakes the last few years, and many executives — sheriffs, police chiefs — don’t want to do what they need to do, which is fire people. And when they do, they’re hired by other agencies, and it’s an embarrassment to my profession.
“But I don’t believe oversight changes anything. Me, I have 550,000 people who if they’re not happy with me, they can get rid of me every four years (in an election), or recall me. We have processes in place and I don’t think we need to create new ones. I view civilian oversight as another layer of bureaucracy.”
Sheriff’s Office post was a surprise to some community advocates
Community leaders asked by The Bee said they were not informed of the creation of the review board and hadn’t heard about it until they saw the post on Facebook.
Bianca Lopez of Valley Improvement Projects said she would have expected a call from the Sheriff’s Office, given that she has advocated for a review board. “We just found out about this committee from social media and through word of mouth from other people who are also concerned about this,” Lopez said.
Wendy Byrd, president of the Modesto/Stanislaus NAACP wasn’t made aware of the committee, but after reading through the post and application, she had thoughts.
“As a former member of Project Resolve and current member of the city of Modesto’s Community Police Review Board, I urge the Board of Supervisors to invest in an independent auditor,” Byrd said in a statement to The Bee. “This commitment would assist the sheriff, Board [of Supervisors] and advisory committee in conducting a thorough and impartial examination of its policies, practices and procedures regarding community interactions and also operations in the county jail.”
Unlike Modesto’s CPRB, which was created out of a working group in coordination with the city of Modesto, and included the appointment of an independent police auditor, this committee doesn’t seem to have any origin other than the Sheriff’s Office.
In his comment to the Board of Supervisors, Dirkse said, “The key thing that I wanted to put on the board’s radar is that I’m going to ask each of you to appoint someone from your districts to that committee.”
So far, there hasn’t been any process or agenda item related to this committee by the Board of Supervisors.
The committee will consist of 15 members who will meet quarterly at the Sheriff’s Office, said Layton, who added that details could change.
He said the committee meetings, unlike the CPRB, would be closed to the public. Layton said he isn’t sure how information about the committee will be shared to the public; he would need to look into it.
Lopez said what she has seen about the committee from the post and application have her concerned about the launch. “I’m afraid that the sheriff is trying to pacify our request to hold the sheriff accountable through a very transparent process,” Lopez said.
Layton said the idea to post on Facebook was to encourage a diversity of opinion, to inform all community members at once instead of reaching out to particular known community organizations.
That way, “we have more of an opinion that represents the entire community and county, rather than a bunch of people that are going to say the same thing or have the same viewpoint,” Layton said.
What the application asks of those interested
Some parts of the application are similar to what the Modesto CPRB requires. The application includes an essay portion where applicants can explain their interest in joining the committee, with an additional request for a resume.
The application requires disclosure of any familial connections applicants may have to the Sheriff’s Office and whether or not they have any pending litigation against the department.
Applicants must be 21 or older and be a resident, business owner, member of a nonprofit, school leader or a representative of a community within Stanislaus County.
The application states that according to the Department of Justice, applicants will need to submit to a background check and fingerprinting to gain “limited access to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.”
About the background check, Dirkse told supervisors, “It’s going to be the most abbreviated version of that that we can.”
The application states that the committee is advisory only and that the sheriff can remove members at any time.
“Any committee member can be kicked out of the committee at the choice of the sheriff – I found that pretty interesting,” said Lopez.
The application includes an affidavit that requires adherence to guidelines that aren’t provided, and an acknowledgement of a four-year commitment to the committee. It also has the applicant attest, under penalty of perjury, that all of the information provided on the application is correct to the best of the person’s knowledge.
When Dirkse announced the committee, he said he planned to have applications out by the end of July, but that did not happen.
The window to apply to the committee closes at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5. Layton said it’s unlikely the deadline will be extended unless the Sheriff’s Office fails to get the necessary number of applicants.
The application must be turned in either in person or by mail to 250 E. Hackett Road, Modesto, CA 95358.
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM.
