14A49 COMMUNITY BASED POLICING MEETING, SEPTEMBER 8, 2004

The monthly meeting was conducted by Officer Beacham.

Aaron Gross, Community Resource Specialist, for the Citywide Neighborhood Abatement Program, was our guest speaker. In the past he has worked for Ruth Galanter and Cindy Miscikowski.

He introduced us to the Neighborhood Prosecutor Program, which was started approximately two years ago, to empower residents of Los Angeles to improve the quality of life in their communities.

Each of the Los Angeles Police Department’s 18 divisions has their own prosecutor. The prosecutors take a proactive approach to crime in their divisions by identifying, prioritizing and eliminating or controlling quality of life crimes such as graffiti, drugs loitering, trespassing, prostitution, illegal dumping, vandalism, zoning violations, nuisance crimes and community eyesores. This approach prevents problems from growing into more serious offenses that can lead to urban decay. The program also works as a long-term solution to quality of life misdemeanor crimes in our neighborhoods.

As a group, he suggested we pick a few issues of importance to us and work with Cindy Miscikowski’s office to eliminate them.

Neighborhood prosecutors work closely with the Senior Lead Officers and other agencies such as Public Works and Building and Safety to come up with creative solutions to persistent neighborhood problems. This program helps both the police and the community by enlisting the support of a dedicated Neighborhood Prosecutor to create a coordinated, tailored effort to reduce crime, eliminate blight and keep our streets safe. The police gain by having issues taken care of that free up officer time to do what they do best – law enforcement.

Phone numbers for basic, non-emergency, city services such as pothole repair are available by calling 311. For a complete listing of City of Los Angeles 800 numbers visit web site http://www.lacity.org or the DRHNA web site. Information on the Dispute Resolution Program is available on the DRHNA website or by phoning the City Attorney’s Office at (213) 485-8324. For emergency services, phone 911.

CNAP (the Citywide Neighborhood Abatement Program) who coordinates their efforts with the LAPD, City Attorney’s Office and Housing takes care of problems such as gangs and homelessness.

Gross suggested that attendees call 311, or their councilperson’s office to find out what department overseas which problems. 311 is the general phone number for city services. For vehicles with out of state plates or expired tags, call the DOT or your local council office. His last bit of advice/information -- most departments will take anonymous requests, the Council will make calls for you and the best way to deal with a problem neighbor is to talk to them.

Our area has lots of problems some of which are illegal dumping, graffiti, inoperable cars on properties, illegal vending, etc. There were many complaints from meeting attendees.

There was a lengthy discussion of crime in our area. Crime in the Pacific Division as well as Los Angeles is up. Part of the cause/reason is because we do not have enough police personnel. In the summertime Pacific Division crime always goes up.

One attendee complained of a vending truck parking in front of his apartment building and the resulting trash. When the truck is moved a car is immediately parked in its place. Essentially the apartment dwellers do not have use of the parking in front of their building.

Because a mail carrier was almost bitten by a dog, no one on the entire block is receiving mail.

One attendee complained about a company construction crew driving into their community in the early morning hours and parking their trucks on the street. The crew is then transported to an offsite construction site leaving the residents with no place to park.

Aaron commented because of the shortage of housing, granny flats and additional units are easier to get. Illegal units are converted into legal units. It is now easier for people to legalize units in a single family home. They are considered legal because the city cannot limit the number of people who live in a unit. A building permit is required to erect walls.

There was a long discussion regarding quality of life issues and city services in our neighborhood including crime and homelessness.

One attendee commented that any time Mar Vista Gardens needs anything it is done right away. When the surrounding community is in need there is no cooperation and an uphill battle must be fought.

Danny, who was arrested last month, is out of jail. The key witness got cold feet and would not testify against him.

The person who committed the double homicide on Venice Beach is in custody. Police have a good lead on who committed the shooting crime at the Laundromat located at Culver and Slauson. Police have some leads on the shooting at Wagner near the Sanchez Market.

Crime in our area as compared to last month has increased by six. It is due to criminals operating in our neighborhood. There have been break-ins on Lucille, McDonald and Mesmer. The criminal is a male Hispanic or black with a light complexion, approximately 6’ tall weighing 160-170 pounds. He wears a black shirt with a hood and rides a bicycle from 6:00 a.m. – 12 noon through the above mentioned areas.

Also, there are two Hispanic men driving a work truck in the Lucille, Aneta, Beatrice area. While one of them engages the owner in a conversation at the front door, the other goes into the backyard, breaks in and burglarizes the house. If you see any of these men in the area, call 911.

Officer Beacham commented on voting yes on the half cent sales tax increase for law enforcement.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathy Brier Del Rey Homeowners & Neighbors Association