Jerry Harper

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block on Wednesday named Assistant Sheriff Jerry Harper, a 31-year law enforcement veteran, to replace retiring Undersheriff Robert A. Edmonds. That could put Harper first in line to succeed Block when he retires. Harper, 51, will take over when Edmonds leaves at the end of March. Harper was the Sheriff Department's chief planner for security for the 1984 Olympics and saw duty during the 1965 Watts riots and during last year's rioting.

Sharon Harper, demoted last year from Los Angeles County's second-highest executive job, has been on paid medical leave since November and has yet to report to her new job in the Sheriff's Department, according to county officials. Harper was forced out of her $260,000-a-year job less than two weeks after The Times reported that county auditors found that she had improperly helped her son-in-law obtain a county job that was "overcompensated" by nearly $1,000 a month. The fight over Harper's demotion now shows signs of heading to civil court, with the recent denial of her appeal clearing the way for her to file a lawsuit against her employer.

The man chosen by the governor this week to head the California Youth Authority has a resume that, on paper at least, makes him both a perfect and a potentially problematic candidate. Jerry L. Harper rose through the ranks to the No. 2 post in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, where he was known for high standards, concern for detail and intense focus.

Re "Bratton's 'broken windows,' " Opinion, April 20 Professor Bernard E. Harcourt's criticism of Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton's adherence to the "broken windows" theory of dealing with crime misses the mark. Law enforcement should be mostly concerned with working closely with the individual, widely varying communities that make up the city. Law enforcement generally has done a much better job the last decade in partnering with neighborhoods and finding out what the people think are the problems that should have priority attention.

Sharon Harper, demoted last year from Los Angeles County's second-highest executive job, has been on paid medical leave since November and has yet to report to her new job in the Sheriff's Department, according to county officials. Harper was forced out of her $260,000-a-year job less than two weeks after The Times reported that county auditors found that she had improperly helped her son-in-law obtain a county job that was "overcompensated" by nearly $1,000 a month. The fight over Harper's demotion now shows signs of heading to civil court, with the recent denial of her appeal clearing the way for her to file a lawsuit against her employer.

Re "Bratton's 'broken windows,' " Opinion, April 20 Professor Bernard E. Harcourt's criticism of Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton's adherence to the "broken windows" theory of dealing with crime misses the mark. Law enforcement should be mostly concerned with working closely with the individual, widely varying communities that make up the city. Law enforcement generally has done a much better job the last decade in partnering with neighborhoods and finding out what the people think are the problems that should have priority attention.

A former Los Angeles County undersheriff and past director of the California Youth Authority was named Wednesday to serve as San Bernardino County's chief probation officer. Jerry L. Harper, who served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for 37 years before taking charge of the California Youth Authority in 2000, was selected by a panel of county officials to head the probation department. Harper replaces Chief Probation Officer Raymond B.

A Pacoima man killed a Val Verde teen-ager and injured three other men after a party early Sunday morning, and then was captured and beaten to death by outraged onlookers, authorities said. David Mota, 20, was leaving a large party in Val Verde, a rural town in the Santa Clarita Valley, at about 1:20 a.m. when he saw 17-year-old Gerardo Valle breaking up a fight between two youths, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Robbins said.

Jerry Harper says he knows what the California Youth Authority needs. After all, he ran it from 2000 until December. Hired to reform the troubled penal system for the state's worst juvenile offenders, Harper began with high hopes. But, he says, promises of more money, more staff and better facilities never materialized. "The solutions are simple.... Frankly we just have to implement them. State government is incapable of effective follow-through," he says.

After a short-lived experiment in running their own police force, Hawaiian Gardens officials want to rehire the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to protect their one-square-mile community in order to trim costs. There's just one problem. City officials are hoping the Sheriff's Department will retain the Hawaiian Gardens officers, many of them popular fixtures in the community.

A former Los Angeles County undersheriff and past director of the California Youth Authority was named Wednesday to serve as San Bernardino County's chief probation officer. Jerry L. Harper, who served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for 37 years before taking charge of the California Youth Authority in 2000, was selected by a panel of county officials to head the probation department. Harper replaces Chief Probation Officer Raymond B.

Jerry Harper says he knows what the California Youth Authority needs. After all, he ran it from 2000 until December. Hired to reform the troubled penal system for the state's worst juvenile offenders, Harper began with high hopes. But, he says, promises of more money, more staff and better facilities never materialized. "The solutions are simple.... Frankly we just have to implement them. State government is incapable of effective follow-through," he says.

The man chosen by the governor this week to head the California Youth Authority has a resume that, on paper at least, makes him both a perfect and a potentially problematic candidate. Jerry L. Harper rose through the ranks to the No. 2 post in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, where he was known for high standards, concern for detail and intense focus.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block on Wednesday named Assistant Sheriff Jerry Harper, a 31-year law enforcement veteran, to replace retiring Undersheriff Robert A. Edmonds. That could put Harper first in line to succeed Block when he retires. Harper, 51, will take over when Edmonds leaves at the end of March. Harper was the Sheriff Department's chief planner for security for the 1984 Olympics and saw duty during the 1965 Watts riots and during last year's rioting.

A Pacoima man killed a Val Verde teen-ager and injured three other men after a party early Sunday morning, and then was captured and beaten to death by outraged onlookers, authorities said. David Mota, 20, was leaving a large party in Val Verde, a rural town in the Santa Clarita Valley, at about 1:20 a.m. when he saw 17-year-old Gerardo Valle breaking up a fight between two youths, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Robbins said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block remained in serious condition at USC University Hospital on Wednesday, two days after doctors removed a blood clot the size of a golf ball from his brain. Block is still not able to speak, according to a source close to the case, but that is to be expected after such rigorous surgery and the pressure of the blood clot on his brain.

The Modesto Central Catholic football team was hoping for some R&R this weekend - and that's just what it got. Not rest and relaxation, rather senior running backs Rey Vega and Ray Lomas. Neither has committed to college, but both will garner lots of attention after their efforts against Solana Beach Santa Fe Christian in the CIF state championship Division IV bowl game Friday afternoon at Home Depot Center. Vega had 202 yards and four touchdowns in six carries and Lomas added 183 yards and three touchdowns in 16 carries as the Raiders established state bowl records for points scored, total yards, rushing yards and winning margin with their 66-7 victory.