Long Beach : Police to Have Recruitment Booth at Gay Pride Parade

Long Beach police, for the first time, plan to set up a recruitment booth at the annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade and Festival this weekend.

“The gay and lesbian community has asked us to provide a community booth,” police Cmdr. Dale Brown said. “They feel there will be substantial interest from their community and they will like us to take applications.

“I think it’s important . . . (It) leans toward community-oriented policing,” Brown said. The Police Department’s presence at the ninth annual festival marks a show of goodwill by local police to the city’s gays and lesbians.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and other law enforcement agencies also will send representatives to pass out crime prevention materials and discuss their recruitment policies, according to parade organizers.

The festival begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Shoreline Aquatic Park and continues Sunday with a parade at noon down Ocean Boulevard, beginning at Bixby Park. The festival, which includes music and arts, will end both days at 10 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the gate.