The Lawless 1% of L.A. Is Holding the City Hostage : Mayor’s race: Crime is our No. 1 problem, socially and economically. We need 10,000 more LAPD officers.

We’ve all become accustomed to this inner dialogue: “Did I remember to lock the door, close the window, lock the car, put my case in the trunk? Is that a safe place to park my car? Can I walk down this street? Is someone hanging around the ATM?”

Our minds are filled with the background noise of crime and fear for our personal safety. This mental clutter weighs us down and turns our attention from more constructive and rewarding paths.

Crime is our No. 1 economic and social problem. I am the only candidate with a background in business, government and law enforcement. I understand how these issues are interrelated and I bring the special expertise of 20 years as a police officer to the problem of reducing crime.

Everywhere I go, people tell me they are afraid to walk in their neighborhoods at night, afraid to send their children to school and angry about the failure of the city to protect them and their families. People run red lights at night to avoid corners that look threatening. They worry about bricks being tossed through their windshield as they drive down the freeway and they fear being a victim of carjacking.

Our city is held hostage by 30,000 active criminals: 99% of Los Angeles is being terrorized by a lawless 1%, most of them teen-agers.

Our property values are being eroded, our economy devastated and our sense of peace and security destroyed. We are all daily witnesses to the tragedy of crime as we watch a parade of coffins, weeping mothers and mourning friends on TV.

Many people are anxious and desperate and they are cocooning in their homes, afraid to go out. Other people are angry and fed up. They’re not just sitting idly by, waiting for violence to strike. More guns are being sold than ever before and crowded gun clubs are an emerging social scene. We are living in the new Old West.

People’s actions are fueled by their perceptions of Los Angeles. Everywhere, graffiti blights our beautiful city. It looks so bad that television and film production are leaving Los Angeles; it no longer looks like the rest of America, except New York and Miami.

Street crime is not confined to the inner city, downtown and Hollywood. In neighborhood malls, people are accosted, and sometimes verbally abused and threatened, by aggressive panhandlers. Many street criminals masquerade as members of the homeless population to shield their activities.

The city has declined because of neglect and inattention by our political leaders. Nowhere is that inattention more evident than our problem with street crime. While politicians sliced up the budget pie, they forgot to take care of business: We have the same number of police officers that we had 20 years ago, despite huge growth and changes in our population.

More recently, the mayor and the City Council fiddled while Los Angeles burned. The Webster Report documented that city government failed to carry out its mandated duties to protect the people of the city in last spring’s disturbances.

We must make reducing crime a priority. We need to face the reality that Los Angeles must have 10,000 police officers to do the job. And I have a plan to pay for these officers without raising taxes, by tapping existing resources.

People have a right to expect elected officials to fulfill their obligations. The good people of all races and ethnic groups want the American Dream to come true in their lives. They want decent jobs, good schools and safe streets. As mayor, I will take all necessary steps to improve the quality of life in Los Angeles.