Local News in Brief : $10,000 Proposed for Anti-Graffiti Patrols

Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi on Friday proposed spending $10,000 from his office budget for a special police operation to combat graffiti in his northeast San Fernando Valley district.

The expenditure, expected to win City Council approval next week, would pay overtime for police to stake out graffiti-plagued sites in an effort to catch graffiti writers in the act, said Los Angeles Police Capt. Valentino Paniccia of the Foothill Division.

Similar anti-graffiti patrols have been tried in other parts of the city, but this would be the first time in the Foothill Division, whose officers patrol the northeast Valley, police said.

Paniccia said no decision has been made on how many officers will be assigned to the anti-graffiti patrol. He expects the program to begin after July 4 and last a couple of weeks.

Bernardi also proposed spending an additional $2,000 from his office fund to beef up law enforcement July 4, when the northeast Valley traditionally suffers from a high number of people illegally shooting firearms into the air, Paniccia said. The money would pay for three additional two-officer patrol cars.

“People who fire guns into the air from yards, porches, parks and other outdoor locations not only violate the law, but also place the lives of their families and neighbors in jeopardy as bullets return to earth with enough velocity to kill,” Bernardi said in his proposal.

Each of the 15 council members receives about $585,000 a year for office operations, most of which goes to staff salaries.