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Deputy staffing draws queries
Supervisors wonder if contract cities
are receiving more law enforcement services than unincorporated
areas are.
May 3, 2006
By Alison Hewitt, Copley News Service
Saying cities that contract with the Sheriff's Department for law
enforcement services may be preventing unincorporated areas from
getting their fair share of deputies, the county Board of
Supervisors asked Tuesday for a report examining the issue.
Two of the supervisors went even further, calling for a moratorium
to prevent contract cities from hiring new deputies without board
approval.
Currently, Sheriff Lee Baca has final say over whether to add
deputies to a patrol area.
Supervisor Gloria Molina was the most outspoken about the issue,
pointing out that her requests for extra deputies in unincorporated
areas have not been acted upon, ostensibly because there aren't
enough deputies. But cities contracting with the Sheriff's
Department have been able to increase the size of their forces, she
said.
"There's got to be a moratorium," she said.
Supervisor Mike Antonovich joined Molina in calling for a change.
"A moratorium is necessary to protect public safety," Antonovich
said in a written statement. "The sheriff needs to focus on
providing adequate levels of patrols before taking on more
responsibilities."
A change could affect El Camino Village, Del Aire, Lennox, Marina
del Rey and other unincorporated areas, as well as contract cities
such as Carson, Lawndale, Lomita, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills
and Rolling Hills Estates.
Contract cities are requesting a total of 41Â additional deputies
for 2006-07, said Conrad Meredith, director of the department's
financial programs bureau. In the South Bay, only Lomita is
requesting additional patrol deputies -- two -- for next year,
Meredith said.
However, Assistant Sheriff Paul Tanaka denied that contract cities
are being served at the expense of unincorporated areas, explaining
that unincorporated areas, the courts, the jails and contract cities
are all feeling the squeeze of the department's 1,100-deputy
shortfall.
Contract cities have a specified number of deputies in their
contracts, while unincorporated areas are maintained at minimum safe
levels, he said. A moratorium wouldn't necessarily bulk up
unincorporated patrols, said Tanaka, who is also the mayor of
Gardena.
"I think the board makes a good point," Tanaka said. But "if a city
says, 'I'm incorporated, but I need your help, sheriff' ... that's
something that needs to be considered."
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky stopped short of supporting a moratorium,
but agreed that the staffing issue needs to be addressed.
Meanwhile, Supervisor Don Knabe said he would not support a
moratorium.
But Knabe complained that while sheriff's officials have declined
his requests to add deputies to the unincorporated areas, they came
before the board Tuesday asking that money from salary savings be
transferred to other needs.
He questioned how the department could be filling all its vacant
positions in unincorporated areas and still have salary savings.
"It's not that the contract cities don't deserve deputies, because
they are paying for it," Knabe said. "But the contract cities ...
pay full cost, while unincorporated areas have to fill their
positions by paying overtime."
The board asked for a report explaining where the salary savings
came from, and how the board could institute a moratorium. The
report is scheduled to come before the board next week. |