From the air to the sea

Deepa Bharath

As city officials consider playing a bigger role in running the

Harbor Patrol division that is now operated by the Orange County

sheriff, the city’s fire chief said Friday that he thought it could

be both “efficient and cost-effective.”

As of now, the city’s police and fire departments work with Harbor

Patrol. Sheriff’s deputies take care of law enforcement and emergency

situations in the water, while firefighters and police officers

handle situations on land.

But they also collaborate with Newport Beach police and fire

officials. For example, if deputies make an arrest on the water, they

hand over the arrestee to police on the dock. Again, if a boat

catches fire on the water, Harbor Patrol officials get to it first,

but if a boat docked in a slip catches on fire, city firefighters

handle that call.

But the council will begin talking about what would be the best

way to manage the harbor.

“We may want to replace the sheriff’s deputies with our own

officers down the line,” Mayor Steve Bromberg said. “We don’t know

yet.”

City officials stressed that the proposed ideas are just that --

preliminary, and have a long way to go before they become a reality.

The Fire Department considers the sheriff’s deputies their “legs

on the water,” Chief Tim Riley said.

“We work pretty well together,” he said.

But that said, Riley said he believes services would improve if

the city took over.

“It would be one agency coordinating everything,” he said. “There

would be better coordination in terms of fire protection because

we’ll do it instead of having someone else do it for us.”

The scenario will be exciting to him as a “professional

challenge,” Riley said.

“It’s definitely a lot of work,” he said. “And it will be costly

to provide these services. But that’s something the city will have to

look into: if it’s feasible and if we can get the same kind of

revenues the sheriff’s department gets to offset the costs.”

But overall, it could prove to be both “efficient and

cost-effective” if the city took over, Riley said.

Harbor Patrol Lt. Greg Russell said it’s an issue that has been

discussed on and off during his 30 years in the department.

“Right now, all it is, is a big hypothetical,” he said. “We work

very closely with the city’s harbor resources division and the Fire

Department. We go to committee meetings. We even have our deputies go

for ride-alongs with Newport Beach police officers so we have a

better understanding.”

Newport Harbor is a “complex area,” Russell said.

“It’s the largest small-craft harbor in the United States,” he

said. “There are areas in the harbor that are county tidelands. Some

of it belongs to the city, and there’s even parts of it that are

privately owned.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol is headquartered at

Newport Harbor and oversees Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach and Dana

Point as well.

Russell said he believes the Harbor Patrol has a “pretty effective

relationship with the city.”

“We’re as concerned about harbor issues,” he said.

Police Chief Bob McDonell said “it’s a policy call.”

“It’s up to the policy makers to decide what is best for the

city,” he said. “We have an excellent working relationship with the

Harbor Patrol. But if our officials tell us it’s something we have to

do, I’m confident we’ll do it and do it well.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.