Williams Pledges Bigger Police Role

In a talk before more than 200 people last week, Police Chief Willie L. Williams urged South Los Angeles residents to take a more active role in their communities and pledged more police involvement.

During a 20-minute address Monday at the Weingart YMCA, Williams touched on a broad range of issues, including community-based policing programs and sensitivity training for police officers. Much of his address was on the need for more community input in Police Department policies.

“You are our most important customer. Part of the process of doing things differently is involving you, the men and the women who live in the city, the men and the women who work in the city, the men and the women who pay taxes,” Williams said. “I need your help and I need your assistance in making the Los Angeles Police Department work.”

He also said that all officers will receive additional sensitivity training and that he hopes to change the 7,800-member force to better reflect the city’s diversity.

“The new officers are going to be black, white, purple, green, men, women and gay,” Williams said.

During a question-and-answer period, Williams was asked what role he and his department might play in helping to reduce the number of liquor stores in the area.

“It is not for the city or the police to tell you what you should have in the neighborhood,” Williams said. “The community should determine what it wants in the future. The role of the Police Department is to create a healthy environment that will encourage other businesses to come back to your neighborhood and stay.”

Some of the residents praised Williams after his speech.

“Since Willie Williams has come aboard, we see a change in the attitudes of the police officers,” said Perry Crouch of Watts. “The police treat you differently . . . Now they at least stop and talk.”