SANTA ANA — Sheriff Brad Gates announced Tuesday that he will lay off 28 employees, including 13 sworn deputies, to achieve another $4 million in budget cuts that officials say pose the biggest threat to public safety since Orange County declared bankruptcy.
Gates warned that the additional cuts requested last month by County Chief Executive Officer William J. Popejoy will result in more dangerous jails, delays in response times, and less thorough criminal investigations. They also represent the department's first layoffs of deputies since the county declared bankruptcy Dec. 6.
"I think his cuts reflect the seriousness of the decisions that need to be made even to the point of compromising public safety," Supervisor William G. Steiner said. "This should put to rest any doubt that public safety is immune from cuts."
During the early stages of the county's unprecedented financial collapse, law enforcement was largely spared the heavy cuts that were being made in other county departments. But as the full implications of the crisis unfolded, public safety agencies were pushed under the budget ax by Popejoy, who sliced the county's total operating budget by nearly 50%.
"Until recently, the budget cuts were only something that people read about in the newspapers," said Popejoy, who ordered Gates last month to make deeper cuts in his department, which had about 1,360 deputies. "Now, unfortunately, they are going to see how it affects their quality of life.
"The sheriff's reductions mean that he is not going to be able to provide the same levels of safety and protection that he once did," Popejoy said. "I only hope we can avoid future, deeper cuts."
With the budget reductions announced Tuesday, Gates has cut a total of $10.8 million. His budget currently stands at about $180 million. He has cut 137 jobs from the department, including 53 deputy positions, of which 40 were vacant. However, no patrol deputies are being laid off.
Although the cuts represent about a 5% reduction in the department's overall budget, they represent more than a 40% reduction in the amount of money the department receives from the county. Most of Gates' budget comes from the state and cities that contract with the department for police services.
"The risk of these cuts to law enforcement involves not only the level of service we provide to the community, but to the safety and the lives of the deputies assigned to the jails and to patrol functions," Gates said in a prepared statement.
"I will continue to utilize all available resources to meet the demands of the community for public safety and the mandates of the Board of Supervisors," Gates added. "This is an explosive situation that I only hope we can hold together."
Assistant Sheriff Doug Storm called the cuts "severe," but said the sheriff carefully planned the reductions so as to minimize the safety impacts on county residents.
"What we have tried to do is prioritize our service," Storm said. "But we will be slower on non-emergency calls, we will be forced to prepare less evidence for court cases and the jails will be more volatile."
Storm said the safety of deputies in the field and in the jails will be threatened.
Assistant Sheriff Jerry Krans, who supervises the county's jails, said the latest round of cuts "makes an already dangerous (jail) situation even more dangerous."
Tuesday's budget cuts will eliminate 12 staff positions at the Men's Central Jail in Santa Ana, and 33 staff positions at the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange.
Last year alone, Krans said, there were more than 650 inmate assaults on deputies and more than 875 inmate assaults against other inmates. He said the assaults will most likely increase as a result of the reductions.
In his statement, Gates characterized the cuts to the jail system as a problem that "will be felt throughout the community." He said that the cuts will probably force him to increase the number of inmates he releases from jail early each year because of the jail overcrowding problem.
Steiner said he is worried about the welfare of deputies in the jails.
"I feel the jails are already understaffed," he said. "The sheriff has to set his own priorities, but I'm concerned about their safety."
In addition to the reductions in jail staffing, the latest cuts include the elimination of the department's workers' compensation fraud unit, two criminal investigators, four positions in the department's crime lab and three positions in personnel.
Previous budget cuts by Gates resulted in reductions in deputy training and firearms qualification, the elimination of Project: No Gangs, a gang prevention program, and the grounding of one of the department's two helicopters.
Storm said the gun-wielding parolee who attacked a deputy Monday might have been captured, or thwarted in his assault, had the department retained its second helicopter crew and been able to dispatch it along with the deputy in the patrol unit.
