L.A. DEPUTY SERVICES NOT EQUAL FOR ALL OUTLYING AREAS SHORTCHANGED.

Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer

Outlying communities are getting shortchanged with services by the Sheriff's Department, plagued by a staffing shortage and priority to contract cities, according to Los Angeles County officials.

Locally, Stevenson Ranch, Castaic and other unincorporated areas see fewer police patrols daily than cities like Santa Clarita, which has a $14 million contract with the county Sheriff's Department, and each day has about 16 squad cars on its streets.

Although some of the disparity comes from about 1,000 vacancies in the Sheriff's Department, which has seen its budget slashed for several years, the county's coffers are gleaming this year with money for more hires.

Now the county Board of Supervisors wants assurance that its unincorporated areas -- home to an estimated 1 million residents -- will see the same level of police service as cities.

``What we are seeing is that commitments and deployments to cities is exceeding 100 percent but is falling dramatically short in the county areas,'' said Anna Pembedjian, justice deputy to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

Sheriff Lee Baca has been criticized by some supervisors in the past for favoring cities that have multimillion-dollar contracts with his department over unincorporated areas.

``Historically, there's a lot of truth to that,'' Baca said Friday in response to the criticisms. ``And that's because there is a contract. We're obligated to fulfill that contract.''

He added that he's the one who sets the level of policing in these communities, not the board.

Santa Clarita's unincorporated area stretches about 500 miles wide, and the vast area plays a significant role on response times when residents call the Sheriff's Department for help.

Castaic resident Jim Early has lived in Hasley Hills for only a few years and said he's uncomfortable with the length of time it takes deputies to come out when he needs them. He wants the area to be incorporated by Santa Clarita, where he says patrols happen regularly.

``You can't get anybody to come out here,'' he said. ``It's terrible.''

But Stevenson Ranch's Elvira Gonzalez has had a different experience.

After some parents became upset with a 15-year-old attending her daughter's birthday party, the 39-year-old Gonzalez called 911 as the situation got out of control. Deputies arrived in 15 minutes.

``They did their job. They settled everyone down and sent them home,'' she said.

In May, Baca implemented a new policy to equally fill positions among communities.

Supervisors have since asked Baca to sign an agreement that confirms outlying sections will get their fair share of deputies patrolling the streets.

However, Baca has not signed the agreement and explained in an interview Friday that it doesn't include specific numbers of personnel for unincorporated areas. He is preparing a report on these staffing levels and is expected to return before the board Aug. 8.

With an attrition rate of about 350 this year, the Sheriff's Department is seeking to fill that gap and refill positions that were staved off during previous budget cuts and hiring freezes.

County officials estimate the department will be over the hiring curve in two years.

The county budget for sheriff's patrols is $65 million, with an additional $18 million earmarked for service to unincorporated areas, where an estimated 10 percent of the county's residents live.

At the same time, cities without police squads who contract with the department are vying for patrol services for their streets -- and paying for it.

Palmdale has a $15.4 million contract with the Sheriff's Department. Lancaster's contract is for more than $16 million.

Still, those contract cities want more deputies patrolling the streets and have said there aren't enough to go around. In fact, the staffing shortage is affecting cities -- Lancaster and Palmdale both have 21 deputy positions open and Santa Clarita, 17.

To compensate, the Antelope Valley cities have created community service positions where employees will take on low-risk duties that deputies typically would do, such as taking reports when residents find their garages have been broken into.

The city-paid employees start this month. The arrangement is expected to give sheriff's deputies more time for serious investigations, said Mark Bozigian, Lancaster assistant city manager.

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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