LA County Sheriff Robert Luna begins his term today

LOs Angeles County officially has a new sheriff. Former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna was sworn over the weekend after beating incumbent Alex Villanueva in the November election. His new term officially begins at noon today.

What the new sheriff promises

During Saturday’s ceremony, Luna promised that her department would be guided by three key principles: integrity, accountability and collaboration. “If we embrace these three principles, I know we can be in a better place tomorrow than where we are today,” Luna said. “I am very optimistic about the future of this department.”

Luna takes over the sheriff’s department after four tumultuous years of mismanagement by Villanueva. Villanueva was elected four years ago as a reformer, but soon began to roll back the disciplinary measures put in place by his predecessor and take other disturbing actions like rehiring a deputy who was fired after domestic violence allegations and lying to investigators.

Villanueva has battled with other county agencies like the Sheriff’s Board of Supervisors and Civil Supervisory Board, refuse to testify to the latter for his investigation of MP gangs.

In contrast, Luna pledged to work with all agencies and eliminate the deputy gangs. Luna comes from a traditional law enforcement background, but promised a “180 degree difference” from Villanueva. My colleagues Frank Stoltze and Emily Dugdale have some additional ideas here.

At the ceremony this weekend, Luna promised new strategies to address homelessness, repair community relations and modernize the entire sheriff’s department. He said:

It’s a pivotal moment for the department, as Frank pointed out. LASD is being investigated by the California Attorney General for alleged civil rights violations, including excessive use of force and the aforementioned deputy gangs.

Frank, in an interview last Friday with our reporters All things Considered The afternoon show, airing on 89.3 KPCC, said that because Luna will likely have better relationships with supervisors and other county agencies, it could mean more funding and other resources to do his work. One of the biggest challenges will be gaining the trust of the department’s deputies, who overwhelmingly backed Villanueva in the elections and who don’t like outsiders coming in and “running their department.”

Last, but not least, Frank said, Luna faces a rising crime rate, an issue that law enforcement officials are grappling with across the country.

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