The issue of Sherriff Department coverage in the unincorporated areas of the Santa Clarita Valley have long been a sticking point when discussing the pros and cons of annexation to the City of Santa Clarita. Now the Sherriff is stating that the lack of coverage in the unincorporated areas is definitely not a figment of anyone's imagination.

Sherriff Lee Baca recently stated that there is definitely some truth to that since the incorporated areas, like the City of Santa Clarita, have contracts that the Sherriff's department is obligated to fulfill while the outlying areas do not. Add to that an overall shortage of deputies, and the result is that areas like Stevenson Ranch, Southern Oaks, Castaic, Tesoro del Valle and other unincorporated areas will not get the same response as areas within the City's boundaries.

The City of Santa Clarita has a $14 million contract with the Sherriff's department, Palmdale has a $15.4 million contract and Lancaster has a $16 million contract. And each of these cities has close to 20 deputy positions open in spite of the contracts. Palmdale and Lancaster have recently created community service positions to help fill the gap on the low-risk duties like taking reports when a homeowner's garage has been broken into.

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