Vallejo officials reported Sept. 25 that a contract with the county sheriff's office has been approved and said deputies will begin assisting city public-safety efforts in January, with an emphasis on beats that serve school areas.

“We actually had our check-in today... The sheriff contract was approved. And so what that means is starting in January, there will be sheriff's deputies that will be assisting our city with public safety,” Chief Ta told the 2x2 meeting. He said deputies would primarily cover beats 2, 3 and 4 for four days a week, Wednesday night through Saturday night, from 2 p.m. to midnight.

The police department also announced a new problem-oriented policing team, referred to as the POP team, made up of one supervisor and three officers. Chief Ta said the POP team will address crime and quality-of-life concerns and began operations Sept. 23.

“We recently just implemented a new proactive team. We're calling our team the problem orientated policing team, POP team. So that consists of 1 supervisor and 3 officers,” Chief Ta said.

Officials added one traffic officer to the traffic division to support enforcement around schools and said they plan traffic campaigns and crosswalk enforcement when school is in session. The department also discussed recruitment and retention efforts, including bonuses; Chief Ta said the department expects to reach full staffing in about three years under current recruitment acceleration efforts.

School and city leaders praised the partnership. A district representative thanked the city and county for the effort, saying the deputies will provide "more presence and protection in Vallejo for all of our citizens. But for us specifically for our schools and our students, I just thank you from the bottom of our heart." The district also said it has been coordinating regularly with the police department.

The meeting did not include a recorded vote in the 2x2 transcript segment; staff said the sheriff contract had been approved prior to the update and described operational details for implementation.