After the Riots / NEWS IN BRIEF : TASK FORCE : Panel Prepares for Future Emergencies

The Countywide Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee--which includes leaders of the local judiciary, law enforcement and related agencies--is forming a task force to help prepare for future riot-type emergencies.

Sheriff’s Department officials will coordinate the formation of the panel, which will seek to improve communication and cooperation among elements of the criminal justice system. “The emergency drills we have now are earthquake-related,” said Assistant Sheriff Jerry Harper.

The managers of the county courts and various law enforcement agencies--ranging from the California Highway Patrol to the Probation Department--generally give themselves high marks in coping with the unprecedented demands created by the riots. But some problems were noted, such as “taking the thousands of arrestees and moving them to arraignment,” said Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Ronald A. Frankle.

Harper said the plans to be developed will take into account lessons learned from the recent unrest. “When the TV comes out there live, you’ve got to go and make an arrest,” he said. “You can have a plan, but you’ve got to be prepared to do more than what you were planning to do--you’ve got to do what TV makes you do.

“Twenty-five years from now . . . when we have the next (riot), we’ll be ready,” he said.