15 DEPUTIES PUT STATION AT FULL STAFF.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

As a Sheriff's Department hiring freeze has been lifted, 15 deputies have joined the Santa Clarita Valley station in the past two months, allowing some patrols to be doubled in the western valley.

The station now has a full complement of 167 sworn officers after attrition depleted its ranks during a department hiring freeze of more than a year caused by county budget cuts, officials said.

The attrition forced station personnel to work overtime to meet its contract with the city of Santa Clarita, but sometimes cut back patrols in the communities of Stevenson Ranch, Val Verde and Castaic, said Capt. Mike Quinn, commander of the station.

"We have beefed up patrols," Quinn said. "We always were providing what we felt was needed, but now we don't have to rely on as much overtime."

With its full staff the station now is able to regularly field three patrol cars in the unincorporated areas of the valley during the day and evening - two on the west side and one on the east side, Quinn said.

As its staff shrank last year, sometimes there would be only one patrol car for the west side during the day and evening, he said.

Richard Massey, a member of the Castaic Town Council, said he never was told that the station was having such staffing problems - though he was aware that it was unable to meet a pledge made last year to increase patrols in unincorporated areas to five cars.

"Thank God there was no emergency," Massey said. "I am glad they are replacing them."

Massey added, however, that the valley's western communities need more than two cars during the day and evening since the area is sprawling. He said a patrol car should be dedicated to the Castaic and Val Verde area itself.

Though the department's staffing problems are commonly said to stem from a hiring freeze, a personnel official said it really is a matter of the frequency at which recruits are hired and academy classes started.

"At one point we were starting classes every seven weeks," said Deputy Wayne Stip of the department's pre-employment section. "The three most recent classes were in November and December '94 and then April '95. We just started a class January 10, but the next one might not be until April."

About 275 recruits entered the late 1994 and April 1995 classes. Most were sent to work the county jails their first years, allowing more senior deputies to transfer to patrol, including the 15 to the local station.

Out of the 167 sworn personnel at the station, 134 are deputies and the rest are supervisory personnel. About 90 of the deputies are assigned to the city, which spends more than $10 million annually on law enforcement.

While the addition of 15 deputies may seem to be enough to increase patrols in a variety of areas, Quinn said that is deceptive since they must be spread out over a seven-day, three-shift week.