Calls for service from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office increased 23 percent from 2007 to 2008, and deputies cleared more cases last year than in the two previous years.

Those and other facts, ranging from volunteer hours to wildland firefighting, are contained in Sheriff Terry Maketa’s recently released 2008 annual report, a glossy 36-page booklet that cost taxpayers $3,600.

It also reports:

• The department has a ratio of .07 deputies per 1,000 population, lower than the 2 per 1,000 that most law enforcement agencies require.

• Response times for deputies hovers around 12 minutes on high-priority calls.

• SWAT officers went to more than 50 calls, and the jail’s Special Response Team handled 23 incidents involving problem inmates.

• Nearly $7 million was generated by grants and fees. The largest sum, $1.1 million, came from work-release fees charged of inmates.

The report, published for at least 15 years, “demonstrates the talents we have working here,” Maketa said Friday.

He said employees write, edit and shoot pictures for the book, along with help from volunteers. A thousand copies are printed and available at the Sheriff’s Office, 101 W. Costilla St.

The report satisfies national accreditation standards established by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., though the standards don’t dictate how information is presented.

The report is nothing new. Maketa’s predecessor, John Anderson, also published an annual report, spending $30,000 from 1995 to 2001.

In response to questions about why he publishes the report amid budget cuts and layoffs, Maketa said the report is compiled throughout the year without distracting employees from their jobs and builds morale.

“At the end of the year you read it and say, ‘We did get a lot done. Look at how far we’ve come,’” he said. “Budgets are tight, but there are certain things you still do to bring about stability for the employees and keep them motivated. The annual report is one of those tools.”

Maketa said it just happened that the his picture appears 37 times, mostly with those receiving awards and commendations.Commissioner Jim Bensberg said that while commissioners use the county’s Web site, www.elpasoco.com, to keep citizens informed, he didn’t quibble with the sheriff’s report.

“I think it’s appropriate for the sheriff to communicate what he’s doing,” he said, “and I’m generally in favor of more information if it can be provided at a cost-effective price.”—Call the writer at 636-0238

Beekeeper Andy Westrich of Hampton, Va., removed a comb-filled frame from a hive in April. Photo by McClatchy Newspapers