The City Council is scheduled Tuesday to discuss a letter to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, calling on the board to support the Sheriff’s Department in its efforts to fill widespread vacancies, which are creating situations that challenge deputies’ well-being.
The city of Santa Clarita contracts with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department for local law enforcement services at the local station, but staffing has been an issue for LASD countywide. The city previously has stated that the LASD fulfills the contract, but station officials have said that requires dozens of hours of overtime each month from deputies.
“Sheriff’s Department staff stressed that the high-level of vacancies, although not a unique issue to only the Sheriff’s Department, poses challenges in employee wellbeing and retention,” according to the staff report prepared by Masis Hagobian, intergovernmental relations officer for the city.
The letter is “encouraging (county supervisors) to make investments in enhancing retention and strengthening recruitment efforts,” according to Hagobian’s report. It also mentions support for an LASD program “piloting a retention program and enhancing flexibility to backfill impairments.”
The morale for Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies has been a concern for Mayor Bill Miranda since the staffing shortages began. He frequently asks the station’s captain about morale during regular Public Safety Committee updates, in response to reports about dozens of hours of mandatory overtime needed to fill the city’s contract.
Miranda was not available for comment Monday.
“I’ve consistently supported efforts to strengthen recruitment within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” wrote L.A. County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, in a statement emailed Monday by Helen Chavez, her director of communications. “I’m pleased to see that next year’s proposed LASD budget includes a recommendation to continue funding academy classes — a critical step to ensure we can meet staffing needs and maintain public safety. Our Board of Supervisors also supported the Sheriff’s request to engage a professional recruitment firm, a contract that has now been in place for several years. I remain committed to exploring all effective strategies to help LASD attract and retain qualified deputies.”
County supervisors authorized a five-year, $1.5 million contract with 9th Wonder to address the LASD staffing shortage in July 2023. The marketing firm, which has since been acquired by Gravity Global, did not respond to a request for comment.
Based on the numbers released from the department, the number of vacancies continues to increase faster than the positions can be filled.
In 2023, LASD reported its staffing levels at about 65% to 70% of its traditional levels, with 1,200 “sworn vacant positions,” based on a staff report to justify the marketing contract.
The city’s letter up for discussion at this week’s City Council meeting states “an approximately 23% unavailability rate among sworn personnel,” based on a February 2025 presentation from Sheriff Robert Luna. That figure is said to include “more than 1,400 patrol deputy vacancies, in addition to other positions that cannot be filled due to leaves of absence or impairments.”
Department officials have talked about several challenges facing staffing for most law enforcement agencies nationally, which include an aging workforce, fewer new applicants and long training times.
In February, the Public Policy Institute of California released a fact sheet indicating one of the problems facing communities throughout the state is declining support, which “has coincided with decreases in the number of officers, as well as highly publicized police use-of-force incidents involving residents of color.”
In a September 2023 PPIC Statewide Survey, half of Californians rated police protection as either good or excellent, which indicated significant decline since February 2011, when 78% rated local police protection as either good or excellent.
The PPIC data also indicates the cost of defunding police is greater than hiring officers, based on a study that looked at decades of violent crime data in major cities and argued that U.S. cities are underpoliced.
“Recent research finds that increased police staffing can help prevent crime: Each additional officer results in 1.3 fewer violent crimes and 4.2 fewer property crimes per year, primarily through deterrence,” according to the PPIC fact sheet. “Research also estimates that the crime-reducing benefits of hiring an additional police officer exceed the annual cost.”
