SmarterthanYou
rebel
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/california/la-me-sheriff-belt-buckle-20170313-story.html
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is getting down to brass tactics.
Sheriff’s officials are spending $300,000 on items they say would make deputies look more professional in their jobs and could help make them safer.
But the taxpayer dollars won’t go toward tools such as higher-quality ballistic vests, backup guns or body cameras, all of which are optional items that deputies have to pay for on their own.
Instead, Sheriff Jim McDonnell is spending the money on a minor cosmetic makeover of deputies’ uniforms: changing the color of their belt buckles and other metal pieces of gear from silver to gold. That way, the metallic bits — all made of brass — will match the gold-hued tie clips, lapel pins and six-pointed star badges that deputies already wear, McDonnell said.
The sheriff says the change is important to maintaining a professional look for deputies on the job, but the move has generated criticism among some rank-and-file deputies and others who argue that it’s a misuse of money at a time when the department is struggling to deal with more fundamental problems than the appearance of its street cops.
Officials with the union that represents the bulk of the department’s 9,100 deputies note that the agency is facing a chronic staff shortage and a recurring budget deficit. For the past several years, the department has been keeping about 1,000 professional staff and 300 deputy positions unfilled so that it can overcome a yearly $250-million shortfall. As a result, deputies are often required to work back-to-back shifts.
“This [expenditure] is something that would be better suited to a department that’s running like a well-oiled machine, but not a department that’s in turmoil,” said Det. Ron Hernandez, president of the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.
McDonnell defended the changes, saying the coordinated gold-colored buckles, belt snaps, baton rings and key holders would “finish off the uniform” and better convey to a suspect that a deputy is in control.
“The first impression somebody gets of one of our deputies in the field is what they look like when they approach. Are they squared-away looking? Do they have their gear in place? Are they physically fit?” McDonnell said in a recent interview. He said a suspect might be thinking: “Am I gonna run? Am I gonna fight? What am I gonna do?”
“Often our deputies are in situations where they’re all by themselves, and they need to exude command presence,” McDonnell explained.
The brass facelift probably ranks as one of the more obscure changes by McDonnell, who’s worked to reform the department after a jail abuse scandal toppled his predecessor, Lee Baca, and resulted in criminal convictions for several other agency officials. McDonnell says he’s proud of the dramatic decrease in serious staff-on-inmate force in the jails and the expansion of training and operations against human trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism during his tenure of a little over two years.
The department recently nodded to the grumbling over belt buckles in its inaugural issue of Inside the LASD, a newsletter designed to address rumors circulating among its 18,000 employees. The publication also provided information stemming from other frustrations commonly aired by deputies, including the disciplinary process, a Taser shortage, and the persistent vacancies and budget constraints in the department.
“A consistent uniform appearance is part of the tactical package,” the newsletter says, alongside photos of brass belt buckles. “The first impression you give can add to your credibility and your safety.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is getting down to brass tactics.
Sheriff’s officials are spending $300,000 on items they say would make deputies look more professional in their jobs and could help make them safer.
But the taxpayer dollars won’t go toward tools such as higher-quality ballistic vests, backup guns or body cameras, all of which are optional items that deputies have to pay for on their own.
Instead, Sheriff Jim McDonnell is spending the money on a minor cosmetic makeover of deputies’ uniforms: changing the color of their belt buckles and other metal pieces of gear from silver to gold. That way, the metallic bits — all made of brass — will match the gold-hued tie clips, lapel pins and six-pointed star badges that deputies already wear, McDonnell said.
The sheriff says the change is important to maintaining a professional look for deputies on the job, but the move has generated criticism among some rank-and-file deputies and others who argue that it’s a misuse of money at a time when the department is struggling to deal with more fundamental problems than the appearance of its street cops.
Officials with the union that represents the bulk of the department’s 9,100 deputies note that the agency is facing a chronic staff shortage and a recurring budget deficit. For the past several years, the department has been keeping about 1,000 professional staff and 300 deputy positions unfilled so that it can overcome a yearly $250-million shortfall. As a result, deputies are often required to work back-to-back shifts.
“This [expenditure] is something that would be better suited to a department that’s running like a well-oiled machine, but not a department that’s in turmoil,” said Det. Ron Hernandez, president of the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.
McDonnell defended the changes, saying the coordinated gold-colored buckles, belt snaps, baton rings and key holders would “finish off the uniform” and better convey to a suspect that a deputy is in control.
“The first impression somebody gets of one of our deputies in the field is what they look like when they approach. Are they squared-away looking? Do they have their gear in place? Are they physically fit?” McDonnell said in a recent interview. He said a suspect might be thinking: “Am I gonna run? Am I gonna fight? What am I gonna do?”
“Often our deputies are in situations where they’re all by themselves, and they need to exude command presence,” McDonnell explained.
The brass facelift probably ranks as one of the more obscure changes by McDonnell, who’s worked to reform the department after a jail abuse scandal toppled his predecessor, Lee Baca, and resulted in criminal convictions for several other agency officials. McDonnell says he’s proud of the dramatic decrease in serious staff-on-inmate force in the jails and the expansion of training and operations against human trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism during his tenure of a little over two years.
The department recently nodded to the grumbling over belt buckles in its inaugural issue of Inside the LASD, a newsletter designed to address rumors circulating among its 18,000 employees. The publication also provided information stemming from other frustrations commonly aired by deputies, including the disciplinary process, a Taser shortage, and the persistent vacancies and budget constraints in the department.
“A consistent uniform appearance is part of the tactical package,” the newsletter says, alongside photos of brass belt buckles. “The first impression you give can add to your credibility and your safety.”
