Sheriff Says He’s Willing to Change System of Deputies Working in Jails 1st

Sheriff Lee Baca made news during the Tuesday taping of the KCRW show Which Way LA? with Warren Olney (I was on the show as well, as was So Cal ACLU Legal Director Peter Eliasberg.)

It happened at the very end of what was a lengthy and….um….extremely lively exchange between Baca and the ACLU’s Eliasberg. (The back and forth between the two made for great radio. Be sure to listen.)

As the very last question of the show, Olney asked the Sheriff if he would consider changing the system under which Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputies must put in several years working inside the county’s jails before they are allowed to transfer out to street patrol or elsewhere in the department.

This system has long been a point of controversy between the Sheriff’s department and those who advocate for reform. The idea of putting green deputies straight out of the academy into the overcrowded, high stress and dangerous environment that is the jail system is, in the eyes of many, problematic at best, a recipe for disaster at worst.

An emotionally immature and scared deputy can be exactly the kind of person who, out of stress and insecurity, perpetrates abuse—or goes along with it. It could also be a short psychological step for that same insecure deputy to be drawn to the jails’ gang-like deputy cliques which have recently become infamous in Los Angeles.

In any case, the sheriff has always been adamant on the topic. When asked if he would consider changing the strategy, his answer has repeatedly been NO. The deputies have to be stationed in the jails first. It works. That’s how we do it. Buzz off. (Or words to that effect.)

But on Tuesday afternoon, Baca surprised everyone.

“Now is the time to look at a two track model,” said the Sheriff in answer to Olney’s question. Some deputies want to work in the jails, but many don’t. In a two track model, presumably deputies could go into custody work, or go from the academy straight to street patrol.

I realize that, to many of you, this discussion about deputy work assignments may seem like so much inside baseball. But it is an issue of great consequence when considering how best to reform a troubled jail culture.

When I spoke to Warren Olney afterward he admitted that he too was pleasantly stunned by Baca’s about face. But it was at the very end of the show, Warren said, so it was impossible to ask a follow-up.

With luck there will be plenty of opportunities for those follow-up questions in the future.

In the meantime, this possible shift in LASD organizational strategy is news—and very good news at that.