LANCASTER TO LEARN FROM OTHERS CONSULTANT TO REVIEW STATION, SEE HOW CITIES SUCCESSFULLY BATTLE CRIME.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- As part of a quest to lower crime rates by 30 percent over the next five years, city and law enforcement officials are joining together to look for ``best practices'' across the country that can be used at the Lancaster sheriff's station.

The city plans to spend $215,000 to have a consultant, Joseph Brann and Associates, conduct a review of operations at the station and look for best practices at other law enforcement agencies that could be applied to improve crime fighting.

The Sheriff's Department agreed to the effort and will have Assistant Sheriff Doyle Campbell as co-manager of the study.

``We are so busy with daily duties we don't have time to analyze what we are doing and what we can do better,'' said Lt. Gordon Carn of the Lancaster station. ``Our frame of mind is `Please, come in and show us how we can do better.'''

The study will begin with an organizational review of the station, looking at such issues as staffing levels, dispatch and call response procedures, and workload trends, said Assistant City Manager Mark Bozigian, who will serve as the city's project manager for the effort.

That will be followed by a ``gap analysis'' in which areas that need improvement will be targeted.

Particular attention will be given to patrol operations and use of civilian personnel.

The third phase will look for the best practices at other law enforcement agencies, with particular attention on programs relevant to the problems and issues Lancaster faces.

The last phase will involve coming up with recommendations and a plan to implement those best practices.

The effort will include public input to determine what expectations the public has for law enforcement, Bozigian said. How that will be done has not yet been determined.

The principal consultant, Joseph Brann, is a former Santa Ana police captain and the former police chief of Hayward. Brann is the founding director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for the U.S. Justice Department.

Brann's company has provided services for law enforcement agencies in several cities, including Sacramento, Riverside, Denver and Cincinnati.

``We were looking for someone with breadth and depth in their approach -- someone that the Sheriff's Department holds in high regard,'' City Manager Bob LaSala said.

LaSala likened the effort to ``not waiting to get sick to get better.''

``This brings to the community the very best in law enforcement,'' LaSala said.

The City Council approved the funding for the study when it passed this year's budget.

The council will vote on the contract with Brann at its meeting on Tuesday.

The consultant's work will take about nine months to a year to complete, but city officials said they envision the improvement efforts to be a multiyear task. City officials said the study is part of a litany of actions taken to address crime and to reach the goal of a 30percent reduction in crime.

Those efforts include bolstering the community safety budget by 43percent since 2004 to $19.3million this year, creating a nine-deputy rental property crime team, and expanding and moving the community service officer program from the sheriff's contract to a city function.

james.skeen@dailynews

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