Cover Story : On Crime

“Some people feel that every person should have a gun to protect himself or herself. But on Monday, (when two Palos Verdes Estates police officers were shot in Torrance) I bet most of those officers were armed. Their guns were useless.”

--Torrance Mayor Katy Geissert

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“I don’t leave my door open in the daytime. I do have a security screen on the front so they can’t see in. We don’t have many police out here. That is a big problem. If we had more police it would be better.”

--Virginia Benedict, 75, Gardena

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“Many of the younger officers suddenly had their eyes open, realizing that maybe there are some dangers that they hadn’t really considered before. This is a reality check.”

--Manhattan Beach Police Sgt. John Zea, on reaction to the killing of Officer Martin Ganz.

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“I think that when children start school, there ought to be a word on the blackboard: ‘Responsibility.’ (Teachers) should spend 15 minutes every week talking about responsibility and manners in class.”

--Faye Flatland, 60, co-owner of a Hawthorne bookkeeping business.

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“I moved here from Texas and I wasn’t in the habit of locking my vehicle or locking my house up. Now, it’s different. I take care with the routes I drive on and make sure the doors are locked.”

--Greg Fry, 39, pastor of Community Bible Church in Lomita.

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“I don’t own a pistol, but I’ve been down there (at the gun store) looking.”

--Robert Hansen of Rancho Palos Verdes, whose home has been broken into four times.