BACA LOOKS AT 1ST YEAR AS SHERIFF; SUCCESSES, STUMBLES CITED.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Touting his first year of accomplishments, Sheriff Lee Baca said Tuesday his department has eliminated a backlog of vacancies, reduced jail overcrowding and seen internal affairs investigations reduced.

At a news conference at sheriff's headquarters, Baca said that since he took office on Dec. 7, 1998, the department has hired 824 deputy sheriff trainees and 290 civilian custody assistants to fill 1,000 vacancies in the 14,000-member Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Additionally, jail overcrowding has dropped by 47 percent and internal affairs investigations have fallen from 350 to 158.

Baca, 57, also cited dozens of innovative programs and plans to build an $18 million to $20 million sheriff's station in Palmdale and reopen the sheriff's station in Malibu. Baca already has reopened stations in San Dimas, Altadena and Marina del Rey.

But Baca admitted that in his first year since taking office after a bitter race with former Sheriff Sherman Block - who died a few days before the election - some mistakes were made.

Recalling his creation of the special celebrity reserve unit in June, Baca said the unit is ``on suspension now.''

``If I'm going to whack myself on moving too quickly, it would probably be on that one,'' Baca said. ``I will not reissue the guns.''

The 20 reserve officers each received a gun and a badge. But within months of the unit's creation, a reservist was accused of brandishing a weapon at two people and a San Dimas man was indicted by a federal grand jury on suspicion of laundering $225,000 to undercover agents.

Baca also was criticized for building the department's first Rose Parade float as part of the celebration of the Sheriff's Department's 150th anniversary. To date, more than $166,000 has been collected from the sales of pins, mugs and other sheriff's paraphernalia.

``We believe the float is an important part of our history,'' Baca said. ``It celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Sheriff's Department.''

In September, county officials were concerned Baca was spending money so freely on new programs that it could put his $1.4 billion budget in the hole.

``The Board of Supervisors said they might not fund additional resources unless I filled vacancies,'' Baca said. ``I anticipate filling those vacancies by mid-2000 and I'll go back to the board then for more resources.''

Baca, who grew up in East Los Angeles and began his career with the department in 1965, also touted numerous innovative programs he has implemented, including the Asian Crime Task Force to investigate crimes in the Asian-American community, including extortion, computer theft, kidnap and ransom. Since its inception, the team has made more than 59 arrests, served 72 search warrants and recovered more than $15 million in stolen property.

Baca also cited the creation of the Los Angeles Regional Crime Information System, a computer system that allows investigators to search files for clues and identify suspects. Eventually, Baca hopes the system will be linked to other police agencies in the county, allowing investigators to search the database for clues and suspects throughout the county.

Baca said the Vital Intervention and Directional Alternatives program to help youths at risk of getting in trouble has had an ``astounding success rate.'' Of those youths who have entered the program, 92 percent have not come back into contact with law enforcement, he said.

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PHOTO (color -- ran in AV and SAC edition only) BACA