‘Little Saigon’ Substation to Help City’s Police Reach Out to Asians

After years of planning, the Westminster Police Department announced Thursday that it is opening a three-officer substation to serve the Southeast Asian community in Little Saigon.

The new office in the Asian Gardens shopping mall on Bolsa Avenue is intended to help overcome perceptions of many Southeast Asians who mistrust police or feel intimidated by them, Police Chief Donald Saviers said.

“It’s been demonstrated in the past that one of the things we must overcome in the Southeast Asian community is the reluctance to talk to police,” Saviers said.

Open House Planned

An open house will be held at the substation, in Office 143 of the mall at 9200 Bolsa Ave., beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Southeast Asian businessmen and community leaders, who have voiced concern about rising crime in Little Saigon, have expressed support for the new office.

In fact, developer Frank Jao, whose Bridgecreek Development Co. built Asian Gardens, donated the space for it.

“We contributed the space to make it more available, being stationed right there next to the neighborhood and next to the shopkeepers, which would make them feel better about talking to police,” Jao said.

Garden Grove opened a similar police field office that has “proven very, very efficient,” Jao said.

In contrast with that office, upstairs at the Bolsa Mini Mall, Westminster’s office will be highly visible, Saviers said.

“We need a high-profile office to let people out there know that we’re there,” Saviers said. “That allows them to get to know us, and we to get to know them. We’re trying to change the image from an us-versus-them situation.”

The office will be headed by Sgt. Richard McKinney, a 19-year police veteran who will supervise two patrol officers, Robert Trotter and James Mraz. None of the officers speak Vietnamese fluently.

McKinney said the office will operate on a shoestring budget and has borrowed surplus furniture from the city and received donated office furniture from Chevron Corp.

Westminster’s Southeast Asian community has grown in size and influence in recent years.

Southeast Asians own more than 700 shops, restaurants and other businesses in the city and compose an estimated 18% of the city’s 70,000 residents.

Uniformed Officers

The officers at the substation will wear uniforms and keep a marked police car parked nearby.

“We’ve got a storefront next to a dress shop, and we have a great big window. All of us will wear uniforms,” McKinney said.

The substation will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., except for Fridays and Saturdays. It will be open until 10 p.m. Friday and until midnight Saturday.

The Police Department is looking for volunteers to answer telephones and help with translation. For more information, call Sgt. Richard McKinney at 898-3311.