VAN NUYS : 700 Fill Church to Hear Appeal for More Police

Nearly 700 crime-fearing residents packed a Van Nuys church to hear police and several Los Angeles city council members urge support of Mayor Richard Riordan’s new plan to hire nearly 3,000 police officers.

But financing Riordan’s plan to provide safer streets will not come cheaply, several council members said at the Thursday night anti-crime forum, dubbed “Crime Awareness II,” at the Church on the Way in Van Nuys.

“I feel fantastic about the plan. But it’s not going to be implemented by rhetoric,” Councilman Joel Wachs said in a speech that resulted in applause that shook the rafters. “It means streamlining. You can’t have five people doing the job of four. It’s time to see where these cuts can be made.”

City Council members Richard Alarcon, Marvin Braude, Laura Chick and Zev Yaroslavsky, who also attended, voiced general support for the need for more police. Deputy Chief Mark A. Kroeker and officers from the Van Nuys Division also supported the mayor’s plan for more officers.

The mayor’s plan, which was outlined by Deputy Mayor Bill Violante, would provide 2,855 new officers by 1998, provide new patrol cars and other modern equipment and make better use of the officers now on duty, Violante said.

Riordan has set aside $15.3 million this fiscal year to pay for the first phase of the program by implementing modest budget cuts in other city departments. However, he faces the challenge of finding the additional funding for the program when next year’s city budget deficit is expected to be between $130 million to $155 million.

Yaroslavsky has said he believes a tax hike is necessary to fund the plan, which he estimates could cost $130 million by the second year and $300 million by the fifth and final year.

Yet Yaroslavsky did not falter in his support for more police and for the community to get more involved in Neighborhood Watch programs.

“I’ve been victimized by crime seven times in the last 18 months,” said Yaroslavsky, citing a recent attempt by someone to steal his wife’s car from their driveway while his family was at home asleep.

“My neighbor, who is a member of our Neighborhood Watch, heard the window of the car smash out and ran out in his underwear,” the councilman said. “He was able to scare off the auto thief.”

The forum also featured updates by police on recent crime-reducing accomplishments and Neighborhood Watch enrollment in Van Nuys neighborhoods. These were followed by a brief question-and-answer session where residents asked questions ranging from those on illegal street vending to salary raises for police.

And although the forum ended before all the questions could be answered, most audience members felt positive about the results.

“They created awareness for (Riordan’s) plan and the program and they’ve rallied the people,” said Naomi Lieboff, 37, a member of the Sepulveda Boulevard Business Watch. “This will empower people.”