South Whittier Residents Say They Need a 3rd Patrol Car : Law enforcement: The gang-troubled area has less protection than surrounding cities, records show.

At a time when county officials must cut $588 million from vital services, one Southeast-area community is asking for something new. Activists from South Whittier have requested that the county spend $680,000 for one more round-the-clock sheriff’s patrol car. Currently, South Whittier has only two full-time patrol cars for a gang-troubled area with more than 65,000 residents.

Despite the county’s historic budget woes, South Whittier residents say their cause is both just and timely.

“In my community, we don’t have to worry about cuts in services,” said resident Jeff Greenstein at last week’s county supervisors meeting. “We almost have no services right now.”

South Whittier has considerably less law enforcement than any of the cities that surround it.

Whittier, a city of 77,671, has its own full-service police department, for example. It deploys five to 11 squad cars at all times and operates a detectives bureau that includes gang and narcotics investigators. Other area cities contract with the sheriff’s department for service.

Pico Rivera, with 59,177 residents, has six squad cars on average. It also has two gang specialists, a truancy officer, a community relations officer and two community services workers who handle routine police chores.

La Mirada, with a population of 40,452, averages four to five cars a day. It has two gang and truancy specialists, a community relations officer and a community services officer, as well as a part-time patrol car to control unruly parties.

Santa Fe Springs, with 15,520 residents, has five squad cars on average. The city also has a field sergeant and a part-time bike squad. The city also pays for a drug education officer to send into schools, a community liaison aide and an officer at city hall to work with local officials.

A sheriff’s helicopter is available for hire to any of the contract cities.

Money is a root cause of the disparity. The contract cities pay for what they get. South Whittier, which is unincorporated, must rely on county funds for its law enforcement.

“When you have 65,000 residents and only two squad cars, and have an increase in violence among the youth, then you know we’re in crisis,” South Whittier activist Victor Ledesma said. “We desperately need the third car.”

The Sheriff’s Department has identified more than 1,000 gang members in South Whittier. Deputies and residents say that gang-related violence is on the rise.

Gang-linked incidents this year include four homicides, 15 drive-by shootings and 34 assaults with a deadly weapon, according to the Sheriff’s Department. South Whittier is under the jurisdiction of the Norwalk sheriff’s station, which handled more than 4,500 cases in the area in 1991 and made 1,300 arrests.

“The people who live there get frustrated when it takes sometimes over an hour for a radio car to get to their house on a non-emergency call,” said Sgt. Mike Pippin, who regularly patrols the area. “We’re just busy. No one’s hanging around at Winchell’s.

“We desperately need cars in the unincorporated area.”

The need was underscored earlier this month when a brown Honda, its headlights obscured, rode past two youths playing soccer in the street. A hail of bullets from the car cut down a 14-year-old and 24-year-old Enrique Valencia, officers said.

The driver then stopped the car and backed up. One or more gunmen then fired several more rounds at Valencia. He died after suffering bullet wounds to the head, chest and leg. The 14-year-old, whose name was not released because of his age, survived wounds in the chest and hand.

The boldness of the incident surprised even veteran investigators. “Usually they just take a couple of shots and keep on going,” Deputy Tom Ctibor said.

Officers have made no arrests in the incident, which is still under investigation.

Many of the gang members live in Sunshine Acres, just east of Santa Fe Springs, deputies said. Sunshine Acres is one of the poorest sections of South Whittier. The homes are generally small, sometimes dilapidated. Many families live in detached one- and two-bedroom rentals owned by absentee landlords. The area includes many recent immigrants and residents who speak little English.

Residents who live in or near Sunshine Acres complain about having to dodge bullets.

“I hate to, but I’m going to buy a 9 millimeter (gun)” said Angel Cabral, a community volunteer. “It’s open gang warfare out there.”

North and east of Sunshine Acres, by contrast, are numerous middle-class homes and even a few upper middle-class enclaves. One neighborhood has a country club. As a whole, South Whittier is about 48% Latino, 22% Anglo, 5% Asian, 1% African-American and 24% other ethnic groups.

Residents outside the Acres say that deputies lack the manpower to police their streets because they must constantly race into the Acres after gangs.

“We in the north part, and other parts included, do not have any protection,” Greenstein said.

South Whittier residents have persuaded county Supervisor Deane Dana, who represents much of the area, to take up their cause. Staff members said Dana will introduce a proposal to provide a third patrol car for South Whittier at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

Observers question, however, whether a board majority will support any expansion of services during a time of cutbacks to law enforcement efforts. Earlier budget cuts have already prompted the Sheriff’s Department to reduce service at the Pico Rivera’s sheriff’s station. The department could close the station entirely if county supervisors cut too deeply into the sheriff’s budget.

If supervisors turn down the patrol car, Ledesma said he and his neighbors will continue to lobby for more law enforcement. He said many South Whittier residents will no longer accept substandard county services.

South Whittier residents said they have long felt slighted by the county. Some of them organized a volunteer group, the South Whittier Community Coordinating Council, to call attention to and help solve the area’s problems. Ledesma is president of the council.

The council has led the fight for a third patrol car with help from Santa Fe Springs. The neighboring city has assigned staff members to assist the coordinating council. City officials said their help is partly to thank South Whittier residents for patronizing their businesses and partly to improve living conditions in an area that is too close to their border to ignore.

Santa Fe Springs staff members also joined the coordinating council’s recent efforts to lobby the county for a community services trailer. Last week, local officials dedicated the trailer at Carmenita and Lakeland roads. The trailer will house family counseling, employment, medical and other services provided by county and nonprofit agencies. Never before have these organizations offered services in South Whittier.

“I see this as only the beginning,” said Ledesma, shortly before the trailer dedication. “I can assure you that this community is not going to stop from really going all out to make sure they get more protection.”

Community correspondent Phillip J. Garcia contributed to this story.