SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT PLANS 2 REALITY SHOWS.

Byline: TROY ANDERSON Staff Writer

Sheriff Lee Baca is going Hollywood, with a plan to train television cameras on his department for two reality television series that would follow his recruits and deputies.

With the working title of ``The Assignment,'' Studio City-based 44 Blue Productions Inc. intends to film the daily activities of the department's personnel, including those working in the jails, detective bureau, specialized divisions and on patrol.

Los Angeles-based Scott Sternberg Productions Inc. would follow selected cadets through their training under the tentative title of ``The Academy.''

The Board of Supervisors will consider the proposal today.

Baca said he signed off on the programs to give the public a glimpse of the person behind the badge.

``I see these reality TV programs as being positive, somewhat educational, definitely entertaining,'' Baca said. ``And the fact that they will be factually based is more important than anything else and why I'm willing to do this.

``I think it will show what it takes to become a deputy sheriff, what are the intricacies of the training and how does the shaping of an individual who has never done this kind of work occur.''

Jason E. Squire, an instructor of cinema practice at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television, said the shows could be very successful.

``If you look at `Cops,' that's been very successful,'' Squire said. ``They certainly strike a chord.''

But rather than the ``spontaneous, unpredictable, tag-along filming'' of ``Cops,'' Baca said, these programs intend to show who the people in the Sheriff's Department are and feature their personalities as they are involved in police work.

County officials said they are confident that the detailed agreements with the production companies, which essentially give the county the right to make the final cut, will prevent the type of problems they've had in the past.

In 2003, the ``edgy, humorous'' television show ``10-8'' featured a New York ``ex-thug'' who later becomes a sheriff's deputy, a veteran deputy tasked with training him and others who don't always go by the book.

The actors wore uniforms similar to ones worn by real-life sheriff's deputies and badges that said ``Los Angeles Sheriff.''

Although the department gave the show permission to use the sheriff's badges, Baca said they ``ended up writing a script that was horribly nonreflective of the Sheriff's Department's core values.''

``It was portraying our deputies in situations that were borderline absurd and that's not how we operate,'' Baca said.

``They were doing a lot of locker room-type of harassment of new employees and creating scenarios that were more Hollywood-ish and sensational rather than just the daily work we really do.''

After the first episode aired, the department objected to the use of its badges and logos and the producers changed the badge and removed the sheriff's star from the patrol cars.

``Our attorneys told them to cease and desist,'' said Anna Pembedjian, justice deputy to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. ``They ended up pulling the show because it just didn't do well.''

But Pembedjian said the supervisor plans to support the agreement because filming will not interfere with staffing and will add to the county coffers.

The county will receive 5 percent of the license fees and 10 percent of the series' profits. Also, each producer has agreed to reimburse the county up to $2,500 for legal costs and fees incurred in negotiating and preparing the contracts.

``To the extent that these reality shows depict the Sheriff's Department in a positive light and shows how hard they work and how dedicated the men and women are to their work, we believe it will boost our recruitment campaign,'' Pembedjian said.

Over the years, Baca said, there have been many attempts to portray the work of the Sheriff's Department.

``But because we are holding fast to our core values, we will not allow any television show to exaggerate what the department does,'' Baca said. ``We have a very high public trust as a law enforcement agency.''

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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