Park Patrols Are Increased After Slaying : Law enforcement: Officers will spend more time on foot and on bikes to curb crime such as the shooting of a card player at a recreation area.

At a Van Nuys park where a 51-year-old man playing cards was recently slain, Los Angeles police announced Wednesday the formation of Operation Safe Parks, a program in which patrol officers will spend more time out of their cars, walking beats or riding bikes in city parks.

“We want to establish the city’s parks as a safe place for members of our community to enjoy themselves,” said Capt. Ken Small at a news conference at Van Nuys Recreation Center.

Small said officers assigned to areas that include city parks have begun making at least two stops at selected parks each week and spending two to four hours on foot or on bikes at each site. He said the patrols, which began last month, coincide with peak park usage times or are conducted during community activities so that the officers can interact with residents while acting as a deterrent to crime.

“Basically, what we are doing is getting out of cars and listening to people so that we can adequately address their concerns” about crime and policing, Small said. “We are increasing our presence.”

There are 150 recreation centers in the city, including about 60 in the San Fernando Valley. There are another 150 smaller parks that do not have structures or other facilities. The police program concentrates on the larger recreation centers where residents have raised concerns about safety. Small did not have a figure on how many parks are included in the program citywide because the number changes weekly as officers make stops at various parks.

Small said the department is working with the city’s park rangers to identify recreation centers where added police presence is needed. The city currently has about 60 park rangers to provide security at its numerous facilities. Al Goldfarb, spokesman for the department or Recreation and Parks, said that on any given day there are no more than six to eight rangers working in the Valley.

“I think it would be good if the police come out and make their presence known,” Goldfarb said of the new police program. “Maybe it will get some of the gangs and drug dealers out of the parks.”

Small said the program is in keeping with the department’s renewed emphasis on community policing because it forces patrol officers to step out of the cars that insulate them from the public.

He said that while officers walk or bike through the parks their patrol zones will be watched over by officers from adjoining zones. He said the program will be evaluated later this year to determine if those patrol officers have been stretched too thin.

Operation Safe Parks was not spurred by any single crime, Small said. However, the need for safety in the city’s parks was underscored by the Aug. 7 slaying of Julian Contreras.

Contreras and several friends were playing cards about 9 p.m. at the Van Nuys Recreation Center when they were approached by two armed men who demanded money. When Contreras objected, one of the men shot him and the other robbed him while he was lying on the ground, Detective John Bagnall said. Contreras died an hour later. The two men escaped.

The City Council has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the slaying.

“We’ve kind of exhausted our investigation,” Bagnall said. “But somebody knows who this man was who shot this innocent victim.”

The victim’s 16-year-old daughter, Alicia Contreras, also pleaded for the public’s help in solving the crime.

“The man who killed my dad is still out there,” she tearfully said. “He is still doing bad things and could be killing people.”