3 to Meet With Gore on Crime Package

Police Officer Stephanie Tisdale, probation official Ed Young, and Sandy Kievman, director of an activity program for at-risk youths, will travel to Washington next week to offer a San Fernando Valley perspective on crime to Vice President Al Gore.

The three will join other representatives from three states in the Wednesday meeting with Gore, who is seeking input on President Clinton’s new “tough but fair” crime package.

The three were selected to represent the area by Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills). Tisdale and Kievman are going at their own expense. Young will probably also go at his own expense but said he is still awaiting word on whether the Los Angeles County Probation Department will contribute.

The meeting is one of a series being held by the White House to tap into nationwide expertise on crime, said Holly Azzari, field representative for Beilenson.

Tisdale, a senior lead officer with the West Valley Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, helps organize crime prevention efforts. She said she wants to share what she’s learned about programs such as Neighborhood Watch.

Young, supervising deputy probation officer for the Valley juvenile supervision unit, and president of Keep Youth Doing Something, the same program Kievman runs, said he wants to make a case for sentencing reforms.

For example, Young said states should look at laws that allow juvenile offenders to be tried as adults. The current system lacks coherence, he said, and doesn’t necessarily act as an effective deterrent.

“You have a patchwork of things that make some sense, but others don’t,” he said.

Kievman said she has a simple message for Gore: Recreation programs work.

“There are treatment programs, but nothing in the area of recreation. It’s really important,” she said.