By Anissa Rivera
The Whittier Daily News, Calif.
SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. — The city of Santa Fe Springs will create its own police department, setting its sights on having it fully operational by March 1, 2028, officials said.
The municipal Santa Fe Springs Police Department will allow the police services to be more responsive, community-centered, and aligned with safety priorities such as tech forward and innovations, Santa Fe Springs City Council said.
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“This was not a decision made lightly,” said Mayor Joe Angel Zamora. “After extensive review and discussion, the Council believes that establishing a Santa Fe Springs Police Department is the best long-term fiscally responsible approach to ensure exceptional, responsive, and community-focused public safety services that is built on a culture of inclusivity, positivity and hard work.”
The city has contracted law enforcement services with the Whittier Police Department since 1995. That year, Santa Fe Springs paid $3.7 million in an annual contract with the department. Its current contract is $18,122,932.
Thirty-four sworn personnel from Whittier Police Department are assigned to Santa Fe Springs. Before that, Santa Fe Springs worked with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The start-up estimates for creating the new police department is $5 million, according to Raelene Barraza, public information officer for the Santa Fe Springs Department of Police and Community Services.
The City Council and staff said it is grateful to the Whittier Police Department and the city of Whittier “for their longstanding partnership, professionalism, and commitment to serving the Santa Fe Springs community.” It will now lean on a collaborative relationship throughout the transition period to ensure uninterrupted, high-quality service.
That transition, happening over the next 22 months, will include recruitment and training of personnel, branding, community outreach, acquisition of equipment and technology, development of policies and procedures, and establishment of facilities necessary to support full-service law enforcement operations.
The new department will include patrols, investigations, traffic enforcement, community engagement, and continued work with Public Safety and Code Compliance officers working under the Department of Police and Community Services. Details such as costs and if an appointed police chief will lead the new department have not been released.
Maintaining continuity of service throughout the transition will remain a top priority, officials added.
The move will strengthen the city’s identity and “invest in a public safety model that reflects the community’s values, priorities, and long-term vision,” they added. Officials said the city ask for community input from residents, businesses and other stakeholders
Santa Fe Springs has a population of about 19,000 residents. Because the majority of its land use is zoned for commercial and industrial use, it has about 3,000 businesses and a daytime population of nearly 95,000 employees, according to its latest budget.
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