Police to Add Substation, More Patrols in Palisades

In response to a series of tragedies involving Pacific Palisades youths during the last two years, community leaders have persuaded Los Angeles police to open a substation this month and to add an extra patrol in the affluent area.

After meetings with police officials from the West Los Angeles Division, the Palisades Chamber of Commerce agreed to donate its office space for the substation, which will allow officers to file criminal reports in the area rather than returning to headquarters several miles away.

In the last 19 months, 10 young residents of the community, including seven students at Palisades High School, have suffered violent deaths, most involving alcohol or drugs.

Attractive to Criminals

Palisades business leaders fear that publicity surrounding the deaths could make the community more attractive to criminals, and residents have been grappling recently with ways to increase police enforcement in the area.

Arnie Wishnick, Chamber of Commerce president, said residents will continue to meet with police to see if they can find a way to staff the substation full time.

Under the plan, the substation, which will be open for use 24 hours, will only be used by officers who want to cut down on their travel time to division headquarters by filing their reports in the chamber office.

Police officials have balked at a full-time substation, saying it would be beneficial to have more officers patrolling the streets.

“At the very least, it will keep them in the Palisades that much longer,” said Ann Pritchard, executive director of the chamber. “A lot of people have been expressing concern about our vulnerability. This should help.”

Police emphasized that Palisades residents should continue to report crimes to West Los Angeles Division headquarters.

Pritchard said the opening has been delayed two weeks because the chamber’s landlord has asked for an insurance liability release for the substation. She said she expects it to open in about two weeks.

In addition to the substation and the added patrol, the foot patrol officer now assigned to the Palisades will no longer be reassigned to other areas in West Los Angeles when the need arises, according to police officials. The Palisades patrol area extends from Mandeville Canyon to the beach.

The community’s concern about crime in the area peaked late last October after four youths were killed in a fiery crash when their auto veered out of control and struck a light pole on San Vicente Boulevard in Santa Monica. Three of the youths were students at Palisades High School. Toxicology reports showed that three of them, including the driver, had been drinking.

The incident followed the highly publicized murder of an 18-year-old Palisades High senior. Teak Dyer was found beaten and shot to death in a Pacific Palisades office building, not far from the Chamber of Commerce, in late June.

“The community wanted police protection to be a higher priority,” Wishnick said. “The more police visibility we have, the better off we’ll be.”