'COPS MORE' GRANT FUNDING OFFERS BACKUP FOR COMMUNITY POLICING

Two local law enforcement agencies were included in the 58 selected
statewide this week for federal funding that will support community
policing.

Through the COPS MORE grant, the Lompoc Police Department will receive
about $29,000, and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's De-partment
slightly more than $70,000.

The state Department of Justice will distribute more than $53 million
to enable California police and sheriff's departments to hire
civilians to fill administrative positions now held by police
officers. The money will also help upgrade technology to reduce
paperwork and increace efficiency.

Although the Lompoc Police Department already employs three civilian
officers, this will be the first time they will hire one who will be
sent out into the field.

The community services officer will take reports that don't require
the presence of a sworn officer, such as minor traffice collisions,
stolen bicycles, found property, petty theft and vandalism.

"What it will do is free up the officers to handle the more serious
offenses that are taking place in our community," said Capt. Timothy
Dabney.

Out of about 21,000 calls for service in 1997, Lompoc police officers
responded to 4,279 calls that did not require the pre-sence of a
sworn officer.

By hiring a community services employee, Dabney anticipates about
2,457 hours of officers' time will be saved and redirected to dealing
with more serious offenses and toward crime-prevention activities.

"They will be able to work with neighborhood residents to identify
crime problems, organize neighborhood watch groups and, bascially, do
more preventive and proactive work," Dabney said.

Recruitment for the community services officers is under way. Dabney
expects to have the position filled within the next month.

The Sheriff's Department plans to use $44,211 of its award to hire a
crime analyst.

"We will not be reclassifying or displacing any sworn personnel," Lt.
Deborah Linden said. "The justification is that right now our sworn
personnnel are doing their own crime analysis on regular time."

Hiring a full-time analyst will free deputies to then engage in more
crime prevention activities, Linden said.

The analyst will use the department's computerized data to look at
crime trends, identify geographic regions where certain crimes occur
and link suspects to crimes that may be related to each other.

"It will let us make good decisions regarding the deployment and use
of our deputy patrol and investigative resources," Linden said.

The remainder of the grant, just over $26,000, will be used to
purchase a computer and software for the analyst.

Recruitment for the position is to begin soon. Linden anticipates that
the position will be filled within the next two months.

To inquire about the jobs, call the Lompoc Police Department at
736-2341 or the Sheriff's Department at 681-4100.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry