Some See Trust in Law Enforcement Eroding : Crime: But Police Chief Bob Burgreen says public support is stronger than ever, despite the recent spate of alleged and real wrongdoing among the ranks.

San Diego County Sheriff Jim Roache phoned San Diego Police Chief Bob Burgreen Thursday to return condolences.

Last month, when Roache and his department were trying to calm themselves over the shooting death of a sheriff’s deputy who was attempting to rob an Encinitas home, Burgreen called to lend support. After all, Michael Stanewich had been shot by a friend and colleague, Deputy Gary Steadman.

On Thursday, in the wake of news that Officer Henry Hubbard Jr. had been arrested in connection with two murder attempts and one sexual assault attempt, and then named a prime suspect in a series of other rapes and robberies, Roache phoned back.

“Unfortunately, he gave me the same call today,” Burgreen said, clearly unnerved by Thursday’s developments.

Henry Hubbard Jr. Michael Stanewich. CHP Officer Craig Peyer, who was convicted in the 1986 strangulation of college student Cara Knott. Sheriff’s Deputy Gilberto Balcazar, who pleaded guilty to sex crimes against two women while on duty and was sentenced earlier this year to five years’ probation.

All of these cases have helped undermine confidence in the law enforcement agencies that administrators such as Burgreen and Roache have worked so long to buttress, according to some community leaders.

“In San Diego, I know for a fact that women were afraid of Highway Patrol officers after the Peyer case,” said Ashley Phillips, executive director of Womancare Clinic, a women’s health center. “That wound had just about healed, so this is a real blow to women. It raises issues of trust and authority when dealing with people in uniform, so I assume it’s a real blow to the San Diego Police Department as well.”

Phillips, who also teaches in the Women’s Studies Department at San Diego State University, said police have been “extraordinarily helpful” to Womancare Clinic, which has occasionally been targeted by abortion protesters.

“But, because of the authority vested in police officers, one has to look (at this case) more carefully and more deeply, precisely because it seems to involve an officer of the law,” Phillips said. “Women are already afraid. They’re afraid to report such crimes to the police. It could deter victims of future crimes to report them, and the levels are already lower than they should be.”

Shirley Porter, co-president of the San Diego County chapter of the National Organization for Women, believes that occasional review for police officers is in order.

“Police should have a screening process and periodic psychological testing to weed out the dangerous criminals among themselves,” Porter said. “Now women can’t trust anyone, and that’s what we tell women: Don’t trust anyone, because you can’t. This (story) is just devastating, the worst thing I’ve heard in a long, long time.”

Burgreen disagrees. Asked to measure public support for law enforcement in a county that has seen repeated alleged and real criminal actions among the ranks in the past five years, the chief did not hesitate to answer.

“I think it stands high, and I say that in spite of this case and in spite of a couple of cases that happened here recently,” he said. “I don’t believe we have ever had the support of the public any stronger than we have today.”

Arthur Ellis, chairman of the San Diego Civilian Review Board on Police Practices, is not so sure.

Although Ellis said it is important to note that Hubbard has not yet been found guilty, he said that, if the officer is convicted, “this will undermine the credibility of the Police Department, in someone in whom we place our trust.”

“There’s always the danger of over-generalizing in these situations,” he said. “On the other hand, the number of instances in which we’ve had problems with law enforcement in San Diego means we need periodic review and screening of officers. There are far too many cases in which counseling or other forms of periodic review might have resolved some of these problems.”

Last month, Sheriff Roache surprised members of his department when he suggested that hiring standards should be strengthened and salaries increased as a means of getting higher-quality deputies.

On Thursday, he said the public should not lump the various cases of officers’ criminal conduct together.

“When you look at Peyer, Stanewich, this case and a number of others, there is no connection, no common thread,” Roache said. “Unfortunately, people will try to create a pattern or practice in this that doesn’t exist.”