Officers Adopt Schools to Foster Better Traffic Safety

Each of the elementary and junior high schools within the Gardena city limits now has a police officer assigned to the campus to help with traffic flow around the school and other safety problems.

The Gardena Police Department this week launched its “Adopt-A-School” program, which pairs a police officer with each of the six elementary schools--Amestoy, Chapman, Denker Avenue, Purche Avenue, 153rd Street and 156th Street--and with Peary Middle School. The officers will work closely with their adopted schools to help improve traffic conditions and pedestrian safety during the busy morning and afternoon periods.

Officers will provide equipment such as signs and a mobile radar unit, which posts the speeds of passing cars, for streets near the schools. The officers will write tickets when necessary, but police officials said the focus is on educating, not punishing, parents to ease the automobile congestion many schools experience when children are dropped off and picked up.

The six traffic officers and one patrol officer in the program also will serve as each school’s police contact for crimes such as graffiti and truancy.

“We want to provide each school with a human being” to help with traffic and crime issues, said Police Chief Richard Propster.

Traffic Sgt. John Browning conceived the program after realizing his officers were responding often to the schools to deal with traffic and parking problems. “We weren’t proactive; we were reactive,” Browning said. “And with all the other ‘Adopt-A . . . ‘ programs, I thought, ‘Why don’t we have an officer assigned to each school?’ ”