The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the expenditure of $7.3 million to hire 67 sheriff’s deputies to ramp up patrols in unincorporated areas of the county.
Supervisor Michael Antonovich recommended releasing the funds, which had been set aside in September.
Patrols in unincorporated areas became less frequent as the Sheriff’s Department instituted budget cuts.
An assessment by the department looking at service levels between 2010 and 2013 called for 118 new deputies to staff needed patrols.
The dollars approved today will pay for the first phase of that ramp-up.
Twenty-five of the deputies will be deployed to Altadena, Santa Clarita, and the Antelope and Crescenta valleys, according to Antonovich.
— City News Service