Police Move to Mend Fences in Santa Ana : Deputy Chief Tells Residents Dept. Isn’t Neglecting Crime in Western Part of City

Santa Ana Deputy Police Chief Eugene Hansen said he was out to “assuage” concerns Tuesday night when he met with residents who charge that the department is doing little to alleviate crime in their section of west Santa Ana.

About 400 people filled Our Lady of the Pillar Church to voice their complaints about drug dealing, burglaries and other crimes in the surrounding area.

Benjamin Orozco told Hansen that he witnesses a “veritable marketplace” for drug dealing at 7th Street and Pacific Avenue every day. “I’ve seen 18- and 19-year-olds run to cars after they stop and offer drugs,” Orozco said.

Accusations Denied

Hansen denied that the department is ignoring the area’s problems. He also denied that more officers are being assigned to other, more affluent areas. He said that response times in their neighborhood are no longer on average than those for other areas and that drug and gang problems are not being ignored. In fact, he said, the city has special task forces assigned to those crimes and cited recent arrests in the area.

Some residents weren’t persuaded. Hortensia Newhouse said she once called the police when gang members set two cars afire on her street. The Fire Department responded, but no police officers, she said.

“We need more patrolling over here,” Newhouse said. “They keep on telling us they don’t have enough police. . . . But in some other neighborhoods, they respond really fast to calls. North of 17th (Street), they respond right away. We don’t have nothing so they don’t care.”

Other residents said they believe the department is hamstrung by a shortage of officers and cannot give an adequate response.

“The police are doing the best they can with the manpower they have,” said Christine Rivera, a Neighborhood Watch block captain for the area near English and 17th streets. She said the meeting could prove beneficial if it brings pressure on city officials to hire more officers. “That kind of communication is what we’ve been looking for,” she said.

Hansen said the department hopes to add more than 30 officers by the end of 1987. City Councilman John Acosta said that he will seek to improve bonuses and other benefits to attract new officers and that the city is due about $800,000 from property and cash seized during drug arrests that could be used for recruitment.

One flyer for Tuesday’s meeting claimed that response times in the west Santa Ana neighborhood have been as high as 2 1/2 to 3 hours, but no one could document such a delay. Rivera said that even when police couldn’t come right away on a recent call, they telephoned to say that officers were handling a traffic accident and would be there as soon as possible.

Hansen explained to residents that officers are deployed among four areas of the city according to the population and crime statistics. He said adjustments are made if there is a shift in crime rates. Calls are handled on a priority basis, he said, adding that the citywide average for responding to life-threatening calls is 10 minutes.

Crimes that have just occurred but aren’t life-threatening get answered within 15 minutes, and “cold calls,” including burglaries, are responded to within 30 minutes, he said.

Gang, Drug Problems Cited

The deputy chief also said there was nothing to show that crime rates were higher in that area of the city, but he admitted that there are gang and drug problems there, particularly near El Salvador Park on Civic Center Drive. But he said the police gang and narcotics special enforcement units have made inroads.

A bust last week in the area yielded several ounces of cocaine and PCP and about $29,000 in cash, Hansen said, adding that there have been 89 narcotics arrests there so far this year.

Despite the simmering anger at Tuesday’s meeting, Hansen said he believes the discussion will bear fruit. “After the initial confrontational posture, I expect many of these people to become more integrated with our COP program (Community Oriented Policing),” he said.

Such meetings aren’t rare. Hansen said he expects a similar debate in a few weeks with residents living near Immaculate Heart of Mary Church at McFadden Avenue and Center Street.