Supes say sheriffs can apply to boost ranks
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gave the Sheriff's Department the green light to apply for a $17.4 million federal grant to hire 50 patrol deputies.
A new program funded by the the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides funding, via a competitive grant process, directly to law enforcement agencies to hire more police officers or deputies to bolster crime prevention efforts.
The Sheriff's Department's plan is to fill 28 patrol positions that are currently vacant due to budget constraints.
In addition, the department is requesting another 22 deputies for patrol duty in 11 cities it contracts with for service. Those cities are: Adelanto, Apple Valley, Chino Hills, Grand Terrace, Highland, Hesperia, Loma Linda, Rancho Cucamonga, Twentynine Palms, Yucaipa and Yucca Valley.
If the Sheriff's Department receives the federal funding, each of its 11 contract cities would receive between one and three deputies.
It would be welcome news for Hesperia, which has been working to increase its ratio of deputies per 1,000 residents for the last five years. The Sheriff's Department has three new deputies earmarked for the city if it receives the federal funding.
"Adding these three (deputies) is going to get us closer to our target figure," said Capt. Lance Clark, who heads the Hesperia sheriff's station. "We have a lot of issues in our community -- a lot of thefts, a lot of traffic issues -- and those (deputies) will help a lot with that."
The grant would fund the salary and benefits for entry-level deputies for three years. The Sheriff's Department and its contract cities will be required to retain the deputies for a minimum of one year once the three-year period is up.
Because the Sheriff's Department pays its patrol deputies more than the standard entry-level salary, the actual cost to cover the salaries and benefits of the 50 new deputies will be about $19 million. Therefore, the $1.5 million difference will be made up by a combination of funding from contract cities and state asset forfeiture funds.
The contract cities will pony up $684,486, and the remaining $871,164 will come from the state asset forfeiture funds.
Getting the money won't be easy. Law enforcement agencies from across the country are vying for funding freed up by the federal stimulus package.
The U.S. Department of Justice is estimating it will be about five months before it announces which law enforcement agencies will receive funding, said Wendy Britt, sheriff's administrative manager.
For contract cities that have experienced significant growth in recent years, more deputies are a neccessity.
"We need the manpower to keep up with the growth in the city," said Lt. Mike Newcombe of the sheriff's Yucaipa station, which would get three new deputies if the federal funding comes down the pike.
He said traffic collisions are a big problem in the city. Last year, he said there were 456 traffic collisions, and deputies issued 4,511 traffic citations.
"It's something we can't ignore. We need to make sure we pay attention and identify resources to keep on that," Newcombe said.
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