Disney Wages Own War on Crime : Safety: Anaheim officials praise company’s efforts. Tourism’s vulnerability to public perceptions of danger is a key concern.

Whether motivated by altruism, enlightened self-interest or both, the Walt Disney Co. has embarked on a highly visible campaign to attack the sources and symptoms of crime in the worst neighborhoods in this city, home to Disneyland, its original theme park.

Recently, Disney officials have swapped Mighty Ducks tickets for 106 guns, organized a youth hockey program to give underprivileged youngsters something to keep them off the streets, and formed a quasi-partnership with school districts to provide job training and educational opportunities. They have also planned a massive new resort around Disneyland that would effectively give a face lift to some of the city’s most blighted commercial areas.

“We’re doing everything we can with our programs to make a difference, and keep people moving in the right direction,” said Ron Dominguez, executive vice president of Walt Disney Attractions. “We recognize there’s a need to help our young people, and give them alternatives to destructive behavior.”

Things have gotten bad enough in Anaheim for an interim police chief to liken it to another tourist mecca--Miami, which has been plagued with a serious crime and image problem.

In Anaheim, “hardly a weekend goes by without a gang-related shooting,” then-Chief Jimmie Kennedy wrote in a confidential memo Nov. 9 to the city manager about department staffing levels. “Several gang territories are within a mile of Disneyland. There is great potential for another Miami incident.”

Comparing Anaheim to a city where nine tourists have been murdered is a little extreme, city officials said last week. After all, the city in 1992 had 63 violent crimes per 10,000 people, compared to 373 per 10,000 in Miami. But they agreed that crime is Anaheim’s most serious and vexing problem.

As for Disney, company officials say the programs they sponsor have not been started out of concerns over crime, but rather because they want to be a “good corporate neighbor. This is nothing new to us,” Dominguez said.

Nonetheless, Disney officials acknowledge being acutely aware of crime.

“I think as citizens of any community you should do whatever can be done to deter crime,” Dominguez said. “It should be everybody’s concern.”

Randall Gaston, Anaheim’s police chief, agreed that Disney has a tradition of community involvement. But, he said, “it appears they’re getting much more involved in programs directly. . . It’s something that’s needed in this community.”

Gaston and Dominguez dismiss the notion that Anaheim is on the verge of becoming another Miami.

“I don’t think the same conditions exist here,” Gaston said.

“I have more confidence in our community being able to control any real negative crime situations,” Dominguez said.

City Manager James D. Ruth contends that the crime problem can be solved, but recognizes that there is potential for trouble. He said the information in the memo by Kennedy, who had been with the department for 29 years and was chief from 1980 to 1988, was disconcerting. Kennedy returned from retirement while a search was under way to replace Chief Joseph T. Molloy, who died of a heart attack in July.

“This (crime problem) is something that we can’t sweep under the rug,” said Ruth, noting that in the next couple of weeks he plans to approach the Anaheim City Council with plans to hire 22 more officers.

Disney officials have always been deeply concerned about crime--and the public’s perception of it--in and around Disneyland. The company goes to great lengths to make sure that the “Happiest Place on Earth” is also one of the safest.

Security officers patrolling the park and Disneyland Hotel outnumber police officers patrolling the entire city. There are 382 Disneyland security officers responsible for about 250 acres, compared to 352 police officers covering the 30,800 acres within the city.

Deputy City Manager Tom Wood rates Disneyland among the safest places in the city.

Outside Disneyland’s borders it is a different story.

Within a mile of the park are some of Anaheim’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods, where gang-related shootings are not uncommon, police said. More than 51 gangs have been identified in the city.

Disney’s concerns about nearby crime apparently prompted a key change in the proposed $3-billion expansion project.

Initially, Disney officials said they planned to have a shopping promenade that would be open to the public. But when the final plans were unveiled, Disney had put the shopping district inside the park, effectively excluding the public. Sources close to the project said the change was made because of crime concerns, but Dominguez discounted that notion.

Furthermore, the expanded Anaheim complex will have guests driving directly from freeway off-ramps into parking structures, bypassing Anaheim’s streets. Disney said that was designed to avoid traffic problems, not crime.

Disney is not alone in its concern over crime.

Many hotel and motel managers are also mindful of the crime picture, and how it affects tourism. “It’s an industrywide problem,” said Ned Snavely, general manager of the Anaheim Marriott and board member of the Anaheim Visitor & Convention Bureau. “Everybody is aware of it.”

How bad is the problem?

Some city officials and business leaders say it is not as bad as many people, including Kennedy, perceive it to be. But for a community that makes its living on tourism, perception can be as damaging as reality.

“Anaheim has every reason to be concerned,” said John Poimiroo, director of the California Division of Tourism in Sacramento. “Tourism is extremely vulnerable to crime and violence.”

Unlike natural disasters that disrupt the flow of tourists, such as fires or earthquakes, crime has a more protracted impact, he said. Tourism in Florida has suffered greatly because of the violence there, he said.

“Everybody should be trying to protect their investments here,” said Charles Ahlers, president of the convention bureau. “Anaheim is pretty fragile. We’re getting competition (for tourism money) from everywhere. . . . Maybe what Disney is doing will start a trend.”

Ahlers said that tourism is always at the mercy of public perception.

“Right now we’re doing OK,” he said. “Anaheim may not be the safest place in the world, but we’re not labeled unsafe either.”

Police acknowledge that violent crimes have increased in the city the past 10 years. There were 11 homicides in 1983, compared to 35 in 1992 and 26 in 1993.

Gaston, who was appointed police chief in January, said the city is trying to cope with the gang and drug problems that are plaguing many Southern California communities. He said that although some violent crimes have increased over the years, the city has experienced a drop in property crimes, theft and other offenses.