A Major Step : Police Begin Walking Foot Beats in Koreatown

Los Angeles Police Department officers began walking a new daytime foot beat Monday along Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown, an effort that officials said they hoped would reduce crime in the area.

Working as part of the department’s community-based policing program in an area where the department was criticized by Korean-American merchants for its lack of response during the Los Angeles riots, two officers from the LAPD’s Rampart and Wilshire divisions began patrolling a stretch of Wilshire between LaFayette Park and Western Avenue.

Officer Kimberly Thompson of the Rampart Division, who was assigned to patrol with Officer Robert O’Brien of the Wilshire Division, said they expected their contact with merchants and residents to help deter criminal activity and prevent the flight of businesses from the district.

“Our main goal is to let people know that we’re out here,” she said. “and the best way to do that is on foot.” She added: “You can’t get rid of crime, but you can deter it and make people want to stay in L.A.”

Officers will work the Wilshire corridor beat from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, city officials said Monday during a news conference to kick off the new patrol.

“Many businesses say this is not a safe place to be,” said Councilman Nate Holden, who represents some of the area covered by the patrol. “They have been afraid. They have moved out of the community, and moved out of the city. That will change.”

Holden said that in the last year there have been nine murders, 11 rapes and 452 robberies along the Wilshire corridor. “This type of community-based policing has proved to be successful in other cities and in Los Angeles. We know it can work here,” he said.

Holden and Capt. J.I. Davis of the Wilshire Division denied that the foot patrols were designed to mend damaged relations between some members of the Korean-American community and the police.

“This effort has been ongoing for eight months, long before the riots,” Davis said.

Later, businessman Jay Lee, a member of the Korean Riot Victims Assn., applauded the foot patrols, calling them long overdue.

“It’s about time,” said Lee, whose shop on 7th and Hoover streets burned during the riots. “They have done it before and stopped it, because they say they don’t have enough money. They have lots of excuses. Once they start this time, I hope they continue.”

Earlier this year, the Wilshire Division assigned lunchtime foot patrols between Normandie and Western avenues in Koreatown. But foot beats are new on Wilshire for officers from the Rampart Division, which covers Wilshire east of Normandie.

The foot patrol officers will work with a group of civilian volunteers who, clad in bright yellow Windbreakers and toting walkie-talkies, will monitor the Wilshire corridor during lunchtime hours. The volunteers, who call themselves the Wilshire Watchdogs, will start within several weeks, said Rampart Capt. Alan Dial.

“They will provide additional eyes and ears for the police officers,” Dial said. “If they see the need for police service, they will alert the officers.”

As Thompson and O’Brien walked into Sanwa Bank on the corner of Wilshire and Kenmore Avenue, bank manager Theresa Amador greeted them with enthusiasm.

“We hope you’ll help in getting rid of the panhandlers on the street,” she said.

The officers nodded in agreement.