CANOGA PARK : Police Substation Operation Delayed

More than a week after its grand opening, a police substation in Canoga Park has been open to the public only once, due to a lack of trained volunteers to operate it, a West Valley captain said.

The station next to the Canoga Park Chamber of Commerce, 7248 Owensmouth Ave., may not be open on a regular basis for another month, said Capt. Val Paniccia of the Los Angeles police West Valley Division.

“We don’t want to open it until we have trainees who know what they’re doing in there,” Paniccia said. “The reason we had the grand opening when we did is that the Chamber of Commerce, who helped get the whole thing going, were excited about getting it open.”

Police initially said they planned to operate the station on a regular basis starting Sept. 9. As it turned out, the substation’s grand opening was held on that day, but the start of regular business was postponed.

The substation is the first in the West Valley located in a largely Latino area. It will eventually be staffed by bilingual officers and volunteers, who will be able to take reports in Spanish and English and give information on community meetings and crime prevention.