The City of Sierra Madre is soon expected to contract with the neighboring Arcadia Police Department to resolve a crippling shortage of law enforcement personnel.
Sierra Madre has lost nearly half of its police force (9 of 20 full-time officers) over the past several months, with even more departures expected in the near future. The situation has gotten so bad that the current force is now unable to provide “safe and reliable services” on a 24-7 basis, according to a city staff report.
“This is totally a temporary measure to make sure we’re providing the same level of service to the community as we start to build our department back up,” said Police Chief Larry Giannone of the estimated $40,000-a-month plan. “We have a great working relationship with Arcadia and we’re here to help each other.”
If the contract is approved, Arcadia cops would step in and patrol Sierra Madre’s streets 7 days a week from sunset to sunrise. They could start as early as February 7 and work through the early summer.
Giannone says the mass exodus largely boils down to three factors: pay, retirement and job security concerns. Those concerns have only been compounded by a reduction in the Utility Users Tax and talks of eventually outsourcing police services to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, according to department officials.
Read more about Sierra Madre’s police shortage here.
Image Credit: Flickr User diversey, https://flic.kr/p/4NPfdS via (CC BY 2.0)