County Agrees to Use Deputies in Long Beach
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to a contract under which sheriff’s deputies will patrol the north end of Long Beach for the next nine months to support that city’s undermanned Police Department.
State statistics showed that Long Beach had the worst record of any major city in California in 1989 for solving serious and violent crimes. City officials point to the department’s inability to retain enough officers as a major reason for the ranking. The department has been plagued by labor turmoil, contributing to the turnover, officials have said.
Under the contract with the county, Long Beach will pay nearly $4 million to have 11 sheriff’s cars and a total of 46 deputies patrol the city’s 5th and 9th council districts. A report from Sheriff Sherman Block said that he expects his office eventually to be asked to provide police service for the two districts into 1993.
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