The Antelope Valley city of 180,000 north of Los Angeles has never had its own police department and relies on the Sheriff's Department to handle crime and 911 calls. But the Lancaster sheriff's station is one of the busiest in the county, according to Sheriff Robert Luna. Parris repeatedly brought up the "defund the police" movement in explaining his belief that a new police department would help lower crime in the city. "Whatever it takes, we are going to reduce crime in Lancaster," Parris said. One of the goals of the department will be to take stress off the sheriff's deputies in the city, he said.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 14, 2023 15:17 UTC