‘We Gotcha’ Posters Go Up : Crime: The placards feature photos of felons who have been sent to prison. They are designed to show that substantial sentences are being handed out.

With the murder rate in Los Angeles County soaring by almost 18% this year, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner struck back Monday with law enforcement’s latest crime-fighting tool: posters featuring photos of imprisoned felons.

Reiner said the posters are designed to show residents that felons frequently receive substantial sentences, although he and others conceded that the posters are unlikely to prevent crime.

“All the publicity goes into doing the crime--we’re trying to give a little bit of attention to those who do the time because of the crime,” said Reiner, who unveiled the placards at a morning news conference in which he was flanked by officials of 18 police departments from Compton to Claremont.

In all, 5,000 posters featuring 26 different convicted felons, mainly murderers, rapists and armed robbers, will be distributed for display in government buildings and retail businesses throughout the county.

“Instead of wanted posters, these are ‘we gotcha’ posters,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

Reiner conceded that the posters by themselves can do little to prevent crime. But he said they will nonetheless prove valuable.

“This has nothing to do with providing a sense of security, false or otherwise,” the district attorney said. “The purpose of this is to bring the community in . . . to help create a partnership by allowing the community to share in the sense of accomplishment when a hoodlum terrorizing the neighborhood is sent off to prison.”

Gates, saying he hopes the campaign will result in additional crime-solving tips from civilians, contended that the posters could also help ease public fears.

“I think the community can stand relaxed when they look at this and know that another bum, another criminal, another nitwit is off the streets and in prison where they belong,” Gates said.

Each poster features a photo of a felon, with a description of his crime and prison sentence--in most cases at least 17 years to life. Stamped over the photos is the word “Convicted.”

Sheriff’s deputies Monday quickly began posting the placards in unincorporated neighborhoods south of Watts, at locations including a fast-food restaurant and the Ujima Village federally subsidized housing complex.

While authorities encountered no problems at the eatery, they received a largely negative reaction at Ujima Village when they sought to tape up a poster of a resident, Samuel Stingley, in the community center.

Stingley, whose family still lives in Ujima Village, was one of three young residents convicted of conspiring to murder two security guards who were wounded in a 1989 shotgun attack. Stingley, who authorities say is a street gang member, was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison.

When the deputies affixed the poster, one resident told a reporter, “This shows nobody is immune--everyone thinks it’s a joke but they need to know that arrests are for real.”

But within five minutes, the deputies agreed to temporarily remove it after receiving complaints from residents, including Stingley’s sister, Cynthia Ross.

Ross, who claimed her brother was being singled out, said her mother “is not going to be able to take seeing Samuel’s face all over the walls.”

A counselor at the community center, Ira Pollard, added, “To some of the brothers, it may look like a warning. But to many, this is their homeboy. They know what happened, they know he’s in the pen.

“This boy is being exploited,” he added.

The deputies agreed to remove the Stingley sign until they can display posters of all three youths convicted in the shooting incident.