Eastvale considers its own police department

The city has contracted with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department since it incorporated, but there are potential advantages to such a move, beginning with saving a lot of money.

Eight and a half years after it incorporated, Eastvale is considering forming its own police department.

Since it became a city in October 2010, the community of 73,000 residents in western Riverside County has contracted with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for its law enforcement and emergency services.

But now, city officials are moving toward creating their own law enforcement agency, provided that a majority of residents approve of such a move and that a police department would save the city money.

“It’s something that’s worth looking at, but we only want to do it if it’s something that the people want us to do,” Mayor Todd Rigby said. “It’s a big decision, and it’s a lot like starting a new business, with start-up costs. The first step would be hiring a police chief who knows how to get a police department started.”

The council addressed the proposal Wednesday during its regularly scheduled meeting. On Tuesday, the issue was discussed during a public workshop held in conjunction with the public safety commission, the second time the matter has been discussed before that panel.

Council members ordered staff to schedule more public workshops, because now council’s highest priority is to determine if a majority of residents support having their own police department. Dates for those sessions will probably be announced at the next council meeting, scheduled for April 10, but it’s not known now how many sessions will be needed.

“Some misleading information has gotten out on social media that’s made it look like we’re trying to push this through quickly, which is not true,” Rigby said. “We know that we need to go slow and evaluate this carefully.

“The main thing is to get as much information as we can from our residents.”

In a recent community survey, Eastvale residents ranked public safety their highest priority, so residents probably won’t be opposed to starting their own police department. At the very least, they’ll consider the idea, although the issue will be decided by the council, not a public vote.

But Eastvale officials have nothing but good things to say about the service provided to the city by the sheriff’s department. They claim their city is one of the safest in California, and they credit the department with getting Eastvale’s Neighborhood Watch program started and helping the city council make better spending decisions regarding public safety.

No, Eastvale is considering starting its own police department because city officials believe it will save money in the long run.

Currently, Eastvale’s law enforcement contract with Riverside County totals $11.8 million, according to a six-page fact sheet compiled by staff.

That number is expected to go up during the next five years, to $74.8 million, according to the report, which was distributed at the March 27 council meeting. Conversely, an Eastvale Police Department is projected to cost $68.3 million during its first five years in operation which would be a savings of approximately $6.5 million.

The report also notes that Eastvale’s law enforcement costs have increased 30 percent during the last five years, well above the regional cost-of-living index, and have gone up 75 percent in the last five years.

The five-year figure includes extra patrol hours, some of which the city reportedly paid for but has not received.

“This discussion does not in any way reflect our satisfaction with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department,” the report states. “This is a decision on how best to provide the law enforcement services our residents desire. With the rising annual contract costs from the [sheriff’s department], it would be irresponsible of us not to consider this opportunity. [But] there are many factors to consider.”

The study lists several possible advantages to a city-operated police department, including quicker response times on service calls, better 911 service and more sworn officers.

Eastvale now has 29 sworn officers. With its own department it would start with 44 and grow to 56 to 60 during the next five years, assuming residents support a one-cent sales tax measure meant to help get the department started.

The report also declares that Eastvale would recruit officers “laterally,’ meaning from other law enforcement agencies, and that it owns two parcels ideal for a police headquarters: at the southeast corner of Citrus Street and Scholar Way, and a site east of the Schleisman Road and Hamner Avenue intersection.

Talk of an Eastvale Police Department has been around for several years, but it heated up last November when Menifee, also of Riverside County, declared that it would start it’s own police department.

“When we saw what Menifee was doing we knew that we owed it to our residents to at least look into it,” Rigby said.