L.A. County Sheriff's Department Awarded Millions to Hire New Deputies

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was awarded an $8.535 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to hire 25 new deputies for the next three years, Sheriff Lee Baca announced Tuesday.

The grant will cover the first three years of the deputy salaries, with the fourth year to be paid by the county.

The grant also includes funds to hire an additional deputy in Maywood
and two in nearby Norwalk, which will also fund the costs of the new hires in the
fourth year.

These hires will help unincorporated communities address burglaries and assaults, and quality of life issues such as graffiti vandalism, substance abuse, and traffic issues. The grant requires approval by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. 

"The funding for these deputies comes at the right time,'' Baca said. "It will help our strong community policing efforts by hard working deputies in partnership with the community.''

The grant for Los Angeles County is part of more than $243 million in
grants made across the nation, Baca said.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department serves both Cerritos and Artesia.

- City News Service and MarieSam Sanchez contributed to this report.