The recent closure of the courthouse lockup and a desk manned by a sole deputy add to concerns that there is a lack of law enforcement presence in the city. City officials say level of public safety is not compromised.
By Ryan O’Quinn/Special to The Malibu Times
Some Malibu locals are concerned that the closure of the local subunit of the Sheriff’s station earlier this year has led to lengthy response times and an overall lack of law enforcement presence in the city. Local officials have vowed to look into the question while Sheriff’s Department representatives maintain there is nothing to worry about. The complaints resulted in the City Council directing the city manager at its quarterly meeting on July 21 to “facilitate discussions with concerned citizens and the Sheriff’s Department regarding Sheriff’s services.”
The courthouse lockup at Civic Center Way was closed July 1, and a desk manned by a deputy Monday through Friday was also closed around the same time.
Despite the complaints, City Manager Katie Lichtig said, regarding the closure in Malibu, “There’s not any diminishing of services. I don’t think there will be a change in the level of public safety. There’s probably going to be an impact in terms of convenience for our residents.”
However, at the quarterly meeting in July, the council recommended that a community meeting take place this month to discuss issues involving the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station. Lichtig had said then that several people made requests for the city to sponsor a public forum, and one had been scheduled to take place July 7, but had been canceled because of scheduling conflicts.
Lt. Gloria Gressman, Sheriff’s Department liaison to Malibu, also maintains that there has been no change in the security or patrolling of Malibu following the recent closure. “It has no affect whatsoever,” Gressman said. “What it does affect is counter reports. We did have Deputy [Dave] Lewey that worked there Monday through Friday and he would take counter reports.”
Gressman explained that counter reports include petty theft or noncriminal accidents, and the reports are now taken at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station in Agoura. “We would still come to their [a victim’s] house. We’ve always had that option of coming to their house if that’s what they wanted,” Gressman said.
One Malibu resident, who wished to remain anonymous, recently contacted The Malibu Times and said he had contacted the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s station repeatedly to report suspicious activity around his home. Later, he discovered his car had been stolen and he phoned the police to make a report. He said he had called the Sheriff’s station two weeks before, one week before and the day before the car was stolen. “About an hour later [after he phoned in to report the stolen car] a car came over and an officer took a report,” said the resident. “About an hour and a half later I got a call from the Los Angeles Police Department that they had found my car in an underground garage in downtown L.A.”
The Malibu local said he had a Lo-Jack stolen vehicle-recovery system installed in his vehicle that allows police to track missing automobiles. He said he then went to the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station to tell them the location of the automobile and ask if they wanted to go down and take prints. He was informed they were understaffed.
“My concern was not to register a complaint, but to get the facts,” said the resident. “They are contracted to cover Agoura, Calabasas and Malibu, and that’s a big area.”
Public Safety Commission Chair Carol Randall said her board keeps tabs on all safety reports that come to the city and they have not received any complaints or grievances regarding the Sheriff’s Department.
“We are not spending as much money this year on the Sheriff as we have in the past,” Randall said. “I was curious to see what that would do to us, but we have not had any complaints coming to our group from any of the residents as far as response time is concerned.”
Randall said the Public Safety Commission meets monthly and is an outlet for concerned residents and they have an open door policy to hear any worries or protests from the community. The next scheduled meeting of the commission is slated for Oct. 6.
The city of Malibu is contracted with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Gressman said that contract could be amended at any time. The number of deputies assigned to patrol Malibu is up to the City Council, Gressman said, and it can add or subtract officers depending on what it can afford.
Gressman also said there are other options such as grant monies that are available for certain specialized units. Gressman noted the Juvenile Intervention Team that addresses juvenile issues in the community. The J-Team, as it is commonly referred to, visits schools and has a goal of becoming aware of juvenile activities and preventing delinquent behavior before it reaches the status of criminal activity.
Malibu Mayor Sharon Barovsky said there should not be a reduction in the number of deputies assigned to the area and her office would make sure of that. “It’s my understanding that there will not be a cutback on the number of hours for policing in Malibu,” Barovsky said.
“The Business Roundtable is sponsoring a meeting with the Sheriff’s Department and the public is invited, and I would urge anyone who wants to ask questions to come to the roundtable.”
The mayor also noted her disappointment with the decision to shut down the Malibu Sheriff’s station and courthouse lockup, but offered hope that the ruling would be rescinded.
“The county is cutting back on so many services,” Barovsky noted. “It’s my understanding that the county is doing a complete needs-assessment of the property at the Civic Center Area, which is the courthouse, the library and the old jail, and that decision could be reversed.”