Lake County sheriff outlines staffing gains, outreach programs and radio coverage plans

Sheriff Luke Bingham told the Lake County Board of Supervisors during a department update that the sheriff’s office added 13 employees in 2024, is near full staffing in corrections, and is pursuing a return to beat-oriented patrols and school resource officers as hiring permits.

Bingham said the office’s 2024 hires included four deputies, three corrections staff, one dispatcher, three correctional aides/evidence technicians and one 900-hour seasonal hire for boat operations. “I don't want people to think that crime has risen in Lake County by our stats. It hasn't. It's staying the same,” he said, adding that more deputies on patrol have increased in-person responses and proactive enforcement, which raises incident-report counts.

Bingham said the department’s staffing improvements have allowed more deputies to respond to calls rather than rely on online reporting, and that corrections is “one away from fully staffed.” He said two deputies are currently in the field training officer program, one deputy trainee was hired the day before the presentation and the office plans a deputy-trainee recruitment drive in March. He reported four open deputy positions and said two cannabis-funded positions are included in his deputy count.

The sheriff described personnel and administrative changes inside his office. He said he eliminated the sheriff-coroner assistant position and created a new administrative staff position. He also announced internal promotions: Captain Corey Polich has been promoted to undersheriff, Lieutenant Gavin Wells has been promoted to captain and Sergeant Gary Frace was promoted to lieutenant and will lead the patrol bureau.

Bingham outlined operational programs and priorities for 2025. He described a retooled COPTER program, evolved from the Road Maps Task Force and relocated to the North Shore (Nice and Lucerne area), focused on quality-of-life enforcement and outreach where cases overlap with Community Development Department work. He said the department expanded community outreach in 2024 and highlighted a fentanyl education effort led by then-Sergeant Gary Frace that reached more than 4,500 students in Lake County in partnership with the local group Stop the Void; Narcan was distributed at events.

On patrol models, Bingham said he wants deputies assigned to single beats year-round so they develop local knowledge and relationships with residents and business owners. He said achieving that goal is staffing-dependent: “If I can get another 4 deputies on the street, then I can go to this BEAT assignment program that I want. I need 4 more deputies,” he said. He added that staffing all School Resource Officer positions countywide would require roughly nine deputies and that doing both beat assignments and SRO coverage would require additional hiring beyond current levels.

Training and radio communications were also priorities. Bingham said the department plans to expand training beyond California POST minimums for perishable skills and that a long-running effort to place a repeater on Goat Mountain is expected to conclude in the coming month to six weeks. He said the repeater will increase radio coverage for law enforcement and fire services across Spring Valley, Indian Valley and out to Highway 20 toward the county line.

There were no formal votes or board actions tied to the sheriff’s presentation. During public comment and board discussion, a board member noted that the Road Maps Task Force submission to the California State Association of Counties won a statewide innovation award, and another speaker praised the return of beat patrols as a way to strengthen community ties with deputies.

Bingham closed by thanking deputies, correctional staff and dispatchers for their work and by inviting questions from the board and public. “And that concludes my presentation, and I'm open to any questions,” he said.