The Police IndexStop data: 2024 · Pay and hiring checked Nov 2026

What the job looks like at Oceanside Police

219 swornStarts at $91,021Not hiring new officers nowApplicant Score 27
Calls for service
About 301 a day

Approximately 110,000 a year. Per year, department About page, archived Oct 2026. Officers also stopped 7,917 people in 2024. Most common reason for a stop: speeding, 19%.

First assignment
Patrol. Open officer postings assign to the Patrol or Field Operations Division.
Busiest hour for stops
9pm to 10pm
16% of stops are overnight
9th of 11
Stops that came from a call
21%
The rest the officer started
5th of 11
Median stop length
10 min

What Oceanside Police officers stop people for

Speeding19%
Red light, stop sign or traffic sign14%
Lights, tint or equipment9%
Registration, plates or insurance8%
Lane, turn or right-of-way violation7%
Mental health hold4%
Phone use while driving3%
Public intoxication or open alcohol2%
Weapons2%
Trespassing2%
Everything else30%

The main reason recorded for each of 7,917 people stopped in 2024, grouped from the offense code. Service calls with no detention are not in this data.

When the work happens

16% of stops happen between 10pm and 5am, 9th of 11.

Oceanside Police
Average of 11
12am3am6am9am12pm3pm6pm9pm

Darker means a larger share of stops in that hour.

How the work is done

Each dot is one of 11 departments. Oceanside Police is highlighted.

On foot31% 6th of 11
0%20%40%
For a traffic violation66% 6th of 11
0%20%40%60%80%100%
After a call for service21% 5th of 11
0%20%40%
Person perceived as unhoused5% 6th of 11
0%20%40%

How stops end

Verbal warning37% 5th of 11
0%20%40%60%
Citation37% 4th of 11
0%20%40%
Arrest12% 5th of 11
0%20%40%
Psychiatric hold4% 3rd of 11
0%20%40%

One person can have more than one outcome, so these do not add to 100%.

When a stop starts with a call

Ends in arrest39% 4th of 11
0%20%40%60%
Ends in a psychiatric hold18% 3rd of 11
0%20%40%

Searches and handcuffs

Person searched17% 4th of 11
0%20%40%
Handcuffed19% 3rd of 11
0%20%40%
Agencies differ in how consistently they record handcuffing and searches, so small gaps between departments may not be real.

Sources, checked Nov 13, 2026: OPD About page (mission, population, staffing, calls) · OPD Careers · OPD Hiring Process · OPD Minimum Qualifications · OPD Police Academy Information · OPD Recruitment FAQ · OPD Serve With Us (schedules, extra pay) · OPD Lateral Police Officer Candidates (incentive) · OPD Meet the Chief and Staff · City posting: Police Officer Lateral, job 25-10 (bonus, benefits) · City posting: Police Officer Graduated Police Academy, job 24-85 (benefit summary) · Entry-level posting dated Oct 2025, job board copy (recruit pay, PELLETB cutoff, waivers) · Entry-level posting job 25-48, job board copy (earlier pay, same test rules) · Archived copies of oceansidepolice.com pages (live site blocks automated access) · California DOJ stop data, 2024

Agency colors not applied yet. They are only used once pulled from the agency's own site.

Photo: Oceanside Pier. Oceanside-Pier-San-Diego-Drone-Photography.jpg by Redideo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and tinted.

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