Crime Is Topic for Sheriff’s Candidate

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Chief Lee Baca, who will speak Tuesday at a meeting of the Studio City Residents Assn., said he wants to send a message to anyone thinking about committing a crime--think again.

Baca, himself a candidate for sheriff, said he wants area residents to understand the consequences of their actions and to let them know that, in his county, crime does not pay.

“I think it’s important to have open lines of communication,” said Baca, 55. “I want people to understand how crime hurts a community and the consequences of committing a crime.”

Preventive policing will be among the topics discussed by Baca on Tuesday at the association’s monthly meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

Baca will also discuss the state of the criminal justice system and how it can be improved in his campaign appearance against incumbent Sheriff Sherman Block.

Although the election is a full year away, residents association president Tony Lucente said it is never too early to get to know the candidates.

“I think people are beginning to understand the internal operations of the Sheriff’s Department and would be interested in meeting the challenger,” Lucente said.

Baca, a 32-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department and one of the state’s highest-ranking Latinos in law enforcement, was considered for the position of chief of the Los Angeles Police Department in 1997 and 1992.

Tuesday’s meeting will be held at Carpenter Avenue Elementary School Auditorium, 3909 Carpenter Ave., Studio City.