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So when the fights first broke out at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic last week, people tried to explain why. Some say that dorm-style jails are at fault. Some blame racial tensions. At one point, a clergy tour of the facility set off a new series of disturbances.
Head Sheriff Lee Baca's immediate response was to say that his department doesn't have enough staff; there aren't enough sheriff's deputies. The numbers seem to bear this out: LA County has fewer than 3,000 deputies for 21,000 daily inmates; NY has 9,300 for a third fewer (14,000). That works out to 1 LA sheriff for every 7 inmates; NY has 1 to every 1.5. Woah.
Jody Kent of the ACLU's Jails Project explained in an LA Times opinion piece that the department had money for hiring, but "The sheriff has been unable to recruit new staff for jobs that have little to offer besides long hours and grueling conditions." Some deputies agree.
But people who hear "quelling a jail riot" and think "that's for me!" don't have to listen to them; starting salaries for LA County Deputies range from about $44,000 - $49,000 a year. The LA County Sheriff's Department is now hiring, making it insanely easy for wanna-be deputies in LA by offering the test 6 days a week in Monterey Park; 4 of those days you can just walk in. The billboard in the photo went up very recently in Silverlake (but maybe that's just a coincidence).
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In law enforcement recruiting news that would have been more relevant to Silver Lake 5-10 years ago, LAPD will be recruiting heavily at Gay Games VII in Chicago this summer.
Wow. Well, I've tried to beat 'em. Maybe I should join 'em. $49K a year is more than I'll ever make writing. Actually, I'm kinda surprised they haven't followed the army's lead and started hiring convicts.
Good article, btw.
Wow. Well, I've tried to beat 'em. Maybe I should join 'em. $49K a year is more than I'll ever make writing. Actually, I'm kinda surprised they haven't followed the army's lead and started hiring convicts.
Good article, btw.
Those starting salaries are actually very good, if you plan to make a career of it. When you consider the value of the pension plan (IIRC, the LASD's plan is 3%/50, i.e. you can retire at age 50 on 3% times your number of service years times your maximum salary), making $49K in the public sector is like making ... well, a lot more than that in the private sector. The LASD's problem is not compensation. It's the "I wouldn't do that at any price" factor.