The San Jose Police Department is proposing new patrol district boundaries that would allow officers to respond to calls anywhere in their district, rather than being confined to specific neighborhood beats.
The reduction of geographical zones from 16 to 12 is intended to improve response times and align staffing with the city’s population distribution, the department said in a statement.
The change means dispatchers will send the nearest officer in a district to calls, according to the department. It’s the first update of police district boundaries in 25 years.
Police are soliciting feedback on the boundaries from the public and City Council before the redistricting becomes operational in November.
While the number of sectors will be reduced, the number of patrol officers per team in each district will increase, along with more direct supervision by sergeants in the field, the department said.
Efforts were made to keep established neighborhoods and communities in the same district. Little Saigon, Evergreen, Alviso, and the Rose Garden neighborhood were examples of communities cited by the police department in a memo to the City Council on the status of the change as of this past week.
Workload, call volume, natural features and major roadways were also incorporated in the division of the city into districts intended to give officers more flexibility in responding to different levels of crimes.
Marching to a new beat
Under the outgoing beat-based model, calls for service were frequently delayed as specific officers were tasked to respond, even if another officer was closer. Some beats went unfilled when staffing declined, and populations shifted as development expanded the city.
“Our goal is simple: better service for the public and better support for our officers,” SJPD Chief Paul Joseph said in a statement. “This new patrol structure allows us to respond more quickly, supervise more effectively, and stay connected to the communities we serve, without losing sight of what’s always mattered.”
The idea of updating the boundaries was first floated in 2020 and moved forward after the completion of a report on the issues from consultant Matrix Consulting Group in 2024.
“This new patrol structure allows us to respond more quickly, supervise more effectively, and stay connected to the communities we serve, without losing sight of what’s always mattered.”
SJPD Chief Paul Joseph
It was also supported by District 4 City Councilmember David Cohen, who had pushed for faster response times in his district, which includes Alviso, Berryessa and North San Jose.
“I’ve been advocating for this update for years because equitable public safety depends on smart deployment, not just staffing levels,” Cohen wrote in his newsletter.
“This redraw is a meaningful step toward delivering fairer outcomes citywide — especially for historically underserved areas — and it reflects a commitment to data-driven policing that prioritizes both community trust and public safety,” he said.
As of the second week of February, the plan was being implemented with internal changes at the police department, but feedback will be solicited in yet-to-be scheduled public meetings, and online until Feb. 19, where an interactive map is also linked to display which addresses are in each district.