Vista officials call for more Spanish-speaking deputies

By: ANNE RILEY-KATZ - Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 24, 2005 11:36 PM PDT ∞

VISTA ---- The city must find a way to get more Spanish-speaking law enforcement officers on patrol, some Vista officials said this week.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, at least two council members suggested adding language in the city's contract with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department that would mandate a specific percentage of Spanish-speaking deputies be assigned to patrol Vista's streets.

Sheriff's officials said that filling such a demand may not be as easy, due to a shortage of qualified Spanish-speaking deputies and Sheriff's Department applicants countywide. They also said the city may not be able to impose such conditions in its current contract because of the way that contract was negotiated ---- as a 'bloc' with other cities served by the Sheriff's Department.

No action was taken on the contract issue, which arose during a discussion Tuesday about a possible review of Sheriff's Department policies in the wake of three fatal deputy-involved shootings in the city.

But Councilmen Frank Lopez and Bob Campbell were emphatic about the city's need to boost the number of bilingual deputies on patrol.

"I would like to see at least two Spanish speakers on every shift," Campbell said Wednesday. "The emergency personnel working in our city should be able to effectively communicate, even if they are not fluent or native speakers. We ... want to understand our local citizens."

Vista's 95,500 population is nearly 40 percent Latino, and of the 49 sheriff's deputies assigned to patrol Vista, none is bilingual, according to sheriff's officials. There are nine deputies assigned to traffic, 32 assigned to patrol, and eight assigned to the Vista Sheriff's Station's Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving unit.

The Vista station does have 13 other employees who are bilingual, including two Community Service officers and two detectives, as well as a handful of office workers and higher-ranking officers.

Vista negotiates its law enforcement services contract with a group of eight other sheriff's contract cities in the county: Del Mar, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Poway, San Marcos, Santee and Solana Beach.

City officials have said advantages to bloc negotiation include the economies of scale achieved by working as a group and access to more resources than if cities bargained individually.

However, the group negotiations ---- under which all the cities have the same access to Sheriff's Department resources ---- may preclude Vista from making specific demands, because it would apportion a disproportionate percentage of the resources to one area.

"We certainly respect the need and desire for specific qualifications like Spanish speaking, but usually the department can't accommodate such requests because of the group approach," said Capt. Glenn Revell of the Sheriff's Department. "Even if it was easy for the city to put forward that request, the resources to fill it may not exist."

Vista Sheriff's Station Capt. Rob Ahern said that once the city's current contract expires, the city could investigate such requirements.

"It's never been done, but it doesn't mean it can't be explored come contract time," Ahern said. "Certainly the city could initiate that request through the city manager."

The city's approximate $13.8 million contract for this year includes 20 patrol deputies, up from last year's 18, and is negotiated on an annual basis.

Ahern said that the department simply may not have enough Latino applicants or fluent speakers to ensure a high enough percentage of Spanish-speaking deputies.

"I think it's due to the small number of all recruits who have the ability to be successful in the selection process, as well as motivation of potential (San Diego County) deputies to work in places where the cost of living is lower," Ahern said.

City staff said they were well aware of the shortage.

"We have always let it be known that we'd like more Spanish-speaking deputies (stationed in Vista)," said Wendy Romagnoli, a management analyst for the city. "But it's not like they're somewhere else instead of Vista; they aren't anyplace else ---- like Lemon Grove or Imperial Beach, either ---- because enough of them just don't exist. "

In the absence of bilingual recruits, officials said the department is considering providing language classes.

"If (Spanish-speaking) candidates are not available, then the only other option is providing language training for existing personnel, if the staff is willing and the city is willing to pay for some of the cost," Revell said. "It looks like that's certainly where we're headed."

Campbell said he hoped the department would incorporate language classes as part of standard training, rather than charging more to cities who wanted bilingual deputies.

"I would be sorry to see the Sheriff's Department call that a special request ---- I think it should be standard in this region," Campbell said. "Paying more for the language training certainly wouldn't be my first choice. There needs to be a dialogue with the other cities and the Sheriff's Department and I am sure they would be responsive to us."

Contact staff writer Anne Riley-Katz at ariley-katz@nctimes.com.