Pubdate: Fri, 2 Oct 1998 Source: Santa Barbara News-Press (CA) Contact: http://sbcoast.com/ Author: Dawn Hobbs, News-Press Staff Writer Section: Local News, page B4 '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