Dispute erupts over deal for Stanislaus deputies to provide transit security
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- Supervisors approved a deal assigning deputies to patrol Modesto Transit Center.
- Deputy union opposed plan, citing contract breaches and staffing concerns.
- Sheriff’s Office will receive $478K in year-one costs under multi-year agreement.
Stanislaus County supervisors approved an agreement July 22 to use sheriff deputies to beef up enforcement at regional transit authority locations.
But the union representing sworn deputies strongly objected to the new arrangement Friday.
“We are adamantly opposed to it,” said Randon Kirkbride, president of the Stanislaus Sworn Deputies Association. “We don’t want to be entering contracts with other entities to be security guards.”
Kirkbride said sheriff’s administration violated contract rules that require a “meet-and-confer” to discuss a change in job duties like this. “It blows my mind that they are going to have us work as bus-stop cops,” Kirkbride said.
The association’s president said a meeting is set early next week to discuss what he called a violation of the deputies’ collective bargaining contract. The law enforcement patrols for Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority were supposed to begin Saturday.
The StanRTA began looking for options for better security because of an increased pattern of “misconduct” and “misbehavior” on buses and at the Transit Center in downtown Modesto, according a report for Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
Sheriff Jeff Dirkse’s written report to supervisors said the uptick follows a national trend of more violence and incidents on transit systems. The report said StanRTA’s search for enhanced enforcement received strong interest from the Sheriff’s Office.
After the consent item was pulled for discussion, two people spoke in favor of the agreement, with one suggesting that county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services be given a heads up if mental illness is a factor in misbehavior.
County supervisors approved a plan to assign two deputies to the Modesto Transit Center six days a week. During the busiest hours, the deputies will patrol and create a visible deterrent to crime; watch for sex offenses and human trafficking activity; investigate vandalism and respond promptly to dispatch calls regarding incidents aboard buses.
The deputies are supposed to replace private security guards who don’t have authority to make arrests. Often, security guards are not sure what actions they can take in handling incidents with unruly individuals, Dirkse’s report said.
“This is concerning as the number of security-related incidents in transit systems nationwide is rising,” Dirkse’s report said. “Having the Sheriff’s Office dedicate sworn officers to support transit will be beneficial to all citizens of Stanislaus County.”
No statistics for incidents on StanRTA buses or at transit locations were available at the board meeting. The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to messages Friday seeking comment. StanRTA officials could not be reached.
Kirkbride said there are 25 vacancies in the sworn deputy ranks, a number that will increase to 28 in less than two months, which will give the patrol division less than 180 filled positions for the first time since 2021.
In addition to patrol vacancies, there are detective and community resource positions to fill, Kirkbride said. Adding the Transit Center duty raises issues of staffing, overtime and the process of responding to incidents on bus routes anywhere in the county. All of those issues need to be discussed with union representatives, Kirkbride said.
Kirkbride said the deputies’ union was not included in the conversations leading up to Tuesday’s meeting. StanRTA’s agreement with the Sheriff’s Department was on the agenda of the regional transit authority’s board meeting June 26.
The agreement between the Sheriff’s Office and StanRTA is supposed to run through June 30, 2026, with options for extensions until June 30, 2029. The Sheriff’s Office will be reimbursed an estimated $478,967 for two full-time deputies, overtime and additional costs the first year.
StanRTA is beginning the fourth year of a five-year contract for private security with American Guard Services. While the AGS guards provide a visible security presence, the transit authority has recognized limitations to that level of security.
For the remaining year of the agreement, American Guard Services will assign a security guard 24/7 at the Transit Center and provide security at the bus maintenance facility. That’s if the sheriff’s deputies are primarily handling enforcement.
This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 5:50 PM.
