VAN NUYS : Pacific Bell Plans Anti-Crime Moves
Moving to discourage crime along Sepulveda Boulevard, Pacific Bell officials announced Friday that they will adjust more than a dozen pay phones in Van Nuys to eliminate incoming calls on the machines.
As many as 18 pay phones along Sepulveda between Burbank and Roscoe boulevards will be targeted. The action is a response to complaints raised by members of the Sepulveda Boulevard Business Watch.
“What happens is the prostitutes and the drug dealers are using the public phones as an office,” said Flip Smith, president of the group. “They’re getting their next trick or their next drug deal from an incoming call.”
Don Creley, account executive for Pacific Bell, said the company will eliminate incoming calls, add lighting, move phones to more visible areas and convert phones from cash to calling card use only.
Merchants in other areas of the San Fernando Valley are encouraged to contact Creley if they suspect that a nearby Pacific Bell pay phone is being used for illegal activities. His telephone number is (818) 569-4840.
“I’m willing to work with anybody in the area who has concerns with the pay telephones,” he said.
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