LA PALMA

The city will begin outsourcing its crossing guards to a Los Angeles company starting Friday as a means to free up police time. Currently, the Police Department is responsible for hiring and managing crossing guards at five schools--at a cost of $23,300 a year, Police Chief Vincent Giampa said. But managing them requires significant staff time, and uniformed officers sometimes have to fill in if the guards call in sick, he said. To save that time, the city has contracted with All City Management Services of Los Angeles for $26,676 a year to hire and manage the guards.