COPS TRY TO LIMIT COSTS SHERIFF'S STATION CUTS OVERTIME.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Down by a dozen deputies, four sergeants and one lieutenant, the Santa Clarita sheriff's station has cut personal holidays to make up for the low manpower and overtime to limit costs.

Deputies are handling larger caseloads because of an increase in crime in a growing city, filling in for deputies on military leave and struggling with case backlogs as they face the possibility of additional duties.

``It's a big impact for us,'' said Capt. Don Rodriguez, station commander. ``It impacts abilities to take days off and vacation.''

The staff at the local station is stretched thin, but if the proposed $100 million budget cuts announced by Los Angeles County's chief administrative officer goes forward, it could get a lot worse, officials said.

``We have to be here 24 hours a day, seven days a week,'' Rodriguez said. ``We have to put our radio cars out in the field.''

Sheriff Lee Baca has described proposed 2002-03 budget cuts for his department as ``mission impossible'' and said if implemented, helicopters could be grounded, there would be no money for new patrol cars and inmates might be freed to cut the costs of running the county jails.

But the nation's economic troubles have hit California's budget, which leaves the county looking for places to cut. The Sheriff's Department anticipates huge reductions.

Sheriff's officials have organized a plan to cut several specialized investigative teams, including the North Country Family Crimes Bureau, the Forgery Fraud Detail, Identity Theft Unit and the Hate Crimes Bureau - all who work locally but are headquartered in Los Angeles.

If the budget is passed as recommended by county administrators, the station's detectives will absorb the work of those special details.

``We're already overloaded and have a backlog of cases,'' said Sgt. Howard Fairchild, head of the local robbery and assault detail, which handles the largest number of cases at the station. ``If we get hit the way the sheriff's says, it would create more.''

The five station detectives who handle sex crimes, robberies and assaults get 30 to 35 cases each month and about as many lower-priority cases.

``I'm not supposed to handle cases, but I will,'' Fairchild said.

The station faces the loss of detectives who work locally but answer to administrators at department headquarters.

Capt. Patti Minutello heads the Family Crimes Bureau, one such unit with a detective stationed in Santa Clarita. That system has been in place for 25 years and allows detectives to share information among the communities served by the department. Over time, the bureau has developed expertise in handling cases of a sensitive nature.

``It requires a lot of compassion and patience to gain the trust of the child,'' Minutello said. ``It's a very difficult job to do.''

It is still unclear what will happen to the deputies and sergeants assigned to special units. Minutello said they may be assigned to regular patrol duties or the station detectives.

In the North County, including Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley, officials said they would lose about eight deputies and a sergeant in the child abuse detail, two forgery fraud detectives, one hate crimes investigator and one detective working identity theft.

In March, Lt. Tim Peters left the station to head NORSAT, the North County Surveillance and Apprehension Team, a specialized unit that seeks career criminals and suspects at-large.

Lt. Scott Young was named as his replacement, but he hasn't taken the post because he hasn't been replaced.

As detectives contend with the increased workload, they work more hours but are not being paid for all their overtime.

``Every detective eats a lot of time,'' Fairchild said. ``Detectives will stay over. It's just part of the job. It eases a lot of frustration I couldn't squeeze any more blood out of them.''

The county cutbacks could also include the Community Oriented Policing Services team. Locally there are nine deputies and a sergeant who patrol the unincorporated areas of the Santa Clarita Valley under the COPS program.

The unincorporated communities of Castaic, Stevenson Ranch, Val Verde, and parts of Canyon Country, Saugus and Valencia are now serviced by deputies in 13 patrols cars assisted by the COPS team.

Two of the patrol cars are assigned to Pyramid Lake and two in Gorman.

Also threatened is VITA - the Vital Intervention Directional Alternatives program for troubled youths.

At the station, the staff is down a total of 17 sworn personnel, its largest-ever shortage. At its previous lowest point, the station was four deputies down.

Even though the local station is short on officers, the department is obliged to meet the terms of its $11.1 million contract with the city of Santa Clarita.

And while the city just renewed its contract, it is paying more without seeing an increase in service.

``Until this year, we've always added about a deputy a year,'' Rodriguez said.