Bankrupt Vallejo bleeding its police force

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Vallejo, already in an economic tailspin, has lost about 20 percent of its police force since the city began its slide into bankruptcy.

About 25 of its 150 or so sworn officers have retired or left for other cities, afraid their pensions or salaries may be slashed if a federal bankruptcy court allows the city to void its union contracts.

"It's a tragic loss for this city," said Vallejo police Lt. Don Hendershot. "We've lost a lot of dedicated, experienced officers. It's very sad seeing these guys go, but I understand why they're leaving."

The North Bay city of 117,000 filed for bankruptcy in May, faced with a $16 million deficit, an imploding housing market and skyrocketing public employee costs. A U.S. bankruptcy judge in Sacramento is expected to rule by the end of the month whether the city meets Chapter 9 bankruptcy criteria and can begin renegotiating its debts.

News of the bankruptcy had an immediate impact on local crime, Hendershot said.

"As soon as they started talking about it, back in February, we saw crime jump," he said. "Criminals know we're short staffed. Now we're seeing people coming here from Richmond and Oakland, because they think it's fertile ground."