SEAL BEACH : Police Substation May Open at Pier

City officials might open a police substation at the Seal Beach Pier in an effort to reduce crime along the coast and on Main Street. City Councilwoman Marilyn Bruce Hastings again raised the idea last week in response to a series of four unrelated armed robberies that struck the city over the summer.

“We have to let people know that if they come to town with guns, they are not going to be able to take private property and intimidate residents,” Hastings said. “Let’s have a substation to protect our residents and merchants.”

Opening a police bureau at the pier would cost about $10,000. It would bring a permanent police presence to the beach and Old Town district, where officers said they respond to the most calls of any neighborhood in the city. The main police station is about a mile away on Seal Beach Boulevard.

The substation probably wouldn’t open until next year at the earliest. City Manager Jerry L. Bankston said that funding the station would require changing the 1993-94 fiscal year budget.

But Hastings and others said the need for increased law enforcement is great.

“We are dealing with a different society today--a more violent society,” said Mayor Gwen Forsythe.

Though Seal Beach remains a relatively safe place compared to surrounding communities, some city officials and residents said that fears about crime have been heightened in recent months.

Two weeks ago, an armed robbery took place on Central Avenue. Bankston said that armed robberies are the only major crime category to post an increase over last year.

Already, the city has imposed a 10 p.m. curfew at the beach designed in part to prevent rowdy party-goers from congregating at the pier area.

“I want people to know that Seal Beach won’t be remiss,” Hastings said. “This is kind of scary.”