New deputies to be monitored

Under pressure from the Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has begun exploring ways to track the progress and conduct of more than 2,000 deputies whose background screenings have been called into question by an oversight agency.

The Office of Independent Review concluded in a February report that the department, in a rush to beef up its ranks, did not vigorously vet a number of recruits with histories that in the past would have likely led to their prompt rejection. The department, according to the OIR, had begun applying less rigid standards, moving towards a “holistic” view of an applicant’s background.

Among other things, the OIR found recruits who had been rejected by other law enforcement agencies, had substance abuse issues and had failed to fully disclose previous brushes with the law. One recruit was discovered to be closely associated with gang members.

In an earlier report, the OIR revealed that Sheriff academy instructors were giving test answers to some trainees and allowing them to retake exams in violation of Peace Officers Standards and Training requirements.

In response to these disclosures, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky introduced a motion at the board’s March 3 session that called on the OIR and Sheriff’s Department to jointly create a system to monitor for five years deputies hired during this period and to provide additional training when needed. The motion, unanimously approved by the board, also asked the OIR to produce annual status reports on these monitoring and training efforts.

“While it is important to ensure future improvement of the hiring process,” Yaroslavsky said in his motion, “it is also crucial for the Sheriff’s Department to monitor deputies ushered into the department during this rapid acceleration of hiring. In this way, we can help ensure that neither the department’s high standards nor the public’s confidence will be undermined.”