Lancaster creates new police department

The Antelope Valley has a new chief in town.

Lancaster is creating its own police department to help support Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and to protect the community from crime.

Chief Rod Armalin, was sworn in this week.

The creation of the agency is a first for the Antelope Valley, which has never had its own police department.

The Sheriff’s Department has been the main law enforcement agency in the area that also includes Palmdale.

The effort to create a separate agency was spearheaded by Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, who wanted to make the community safer.

“It’s my obligation to keep the families in Lancaster safe,” the mayor told the Los Angeles Times. “Quite frankly I do not care who I offend. You cannot defund the police and have a safe society.”

Armalin told the newspaper that his new department will initially hire eight officers, with the goal of eventually hiring up to 20 to 30.

The city budgeted “several million” dollars for the department, which include funds for four squad cars, and officials will look to hire retired or experienced law enforcement officers, the L.A. Times reported.

The new officers will not hit the streets until next year, however, and will be “nondispatchable,” according to the newspaper. That means they won’t respond directly to 911 calls and will instead respond after the Sheriff’s Department to speak with suspects and victims to try and prevent future incidents, the mayor told the Times.