LAGUNA HILLS : New Sheriff Services Contract Approved
The City Council this week unanimously approved a new police services contract with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The city will get the equivalent of about 29 full-time employees, including patrol officers and support personnel, at an annual cost of $2.72 million. The one-year contract contains a 2.4% cost increase over last year’s contract, with no change in staffing levels.
The agreement gives the city one of the highest service levels--with officers spending about 44% of their time on patrols--at one of the lowest cost levels in the county, said Lt. Tom McCarthy, the city’s chief of police services.
“Our response times have been good, and the preventive patrol time--the time when the deputies on the street have unobligated time to do proactive, crime prevention patrols--is real high,” McCarthy said. “Having 40% preventive patrol time is considered good, so we’re at a level that would make most cities envious.”
Only five cities in the county--Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano and Villa Park--have lower per capita costs for policing than Laguna Hills, McCarthy said.
The agreement gives the city 14 full-time deputies on patrol duty, two investigators, five traffic deputies and three crossing guards.
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