DEPUTY TO PATROL SHOPPING CENTERS MOVE INTENDED TO ABATE CRIME.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- In a bid to clamp down on crime, a deputy will be assigned to two eastside shopping centers under a public-private arrangement.

Responding to complaints about crime in the area, a deputy will patrol the Wal-Mart and Front Gate Plaza shopping centers at AvenueJ and 20th Street East for 40 hours a week. The cost of the deputy and vehicle, estimated at $149,000 a year, will be reimbursed by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Front Gate Plaza LLC and Stater Bros. Markets.

The move comes as the result of complaints in the area and a push by members of Lancaster Baptist Church for more law enforcement. City officials, at the urging of residents, looked into the idea of a storefront sheriff's substation but deemed the presence of a deputy in a vehicle a better deterrent.

``This is a good step in the right direction,'' said Ray Cazis, administrator of Lancaster Baptist School.

If the presence of the deputy does not help abate crime, the City Council should reconsider the storefront substation idea, Cazis said.

Under an agreement with the city and the Sheriff's Department, Wal-Mart will pay 60percent of the costs; Front Gate Plaza will pay 34percent; and Stater Bros. will pay 6percent. The costs will be reimbursed on a monthly basis. The agreement is for one year.

City Council members said the private parties should be praised for stepping forward with the funding.

``I'm very, very thankful for this,'' Mayor Henry Hearns said.

After receiving the complaints, an interim effort was launched in which a two-person Target Oriented Policing team patrolled the centers while deputies on horseback patrolled the centers on weekends.

Those patrols, which carry through this week, will be replaced by the permanently assigned deputy.

james.skeen@dailynews

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