PARIS RELEASE HURTS BACA POLL: MAJORITY VOICE DISAPPROVAL.

Byline: TROY ANDERSON

Staff Writer

In the wake of Sheriff Lee Baca's decision to defy a judge's order and let Paris Hilton out of jail early, a poll released Monday found more than 50 percent of Los Angeles County residents are dissatisfied with the sheriff's leadership, management and judgment.

The KRC Research poll of 303 adults from June 12-14, conducted at the behest of the 8,000-member Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, found 68 percent thought he showed poor judgment in releasing Hilton to home confinement and 80 percent believe people with money, power or celebrity get better treatment from the Sheriff's Department than the average citizen.

The survey follows a similar one taken prior to the Hilton brouhaha in which nearly 70 percent of sheriff's deputies said they disapproved of Baca's management of the department and only 14 percent said they would support the sheriff for re-election.

"Taken together, these surveys are disturbing," ALADS President Steve Remige said. "The message to the sheriff from the people he serves and from the deputies who serve under him is that he needs to do a lot better. We are willing to work with the sheriff to help improve the department and rescue his reputation."

The survey surprised political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe. Baca was re-elected to his third term last June with 67 percent of the vote.

"When it's a private poll, I'm very skeptical of taking the results at face value," Jeffe said.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said ALADS has historically been "entrenched" against sheriff's management, and this appears to be a publicity stunt to raise the union's stature.

"Perhaps it's time for an internal look at some new leadership (at ALADS)," Whitmore said.

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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