IRVINE : Police Substation Opens in Spectrum

The Police Department has opened its first satellite station to help fight crime in the Irvine Spectrum, a sprawling business district where rows of office towers stand next to rows of tomato and pepper crops.

The station is in the Irvine Transportation Center and consists of a room with telephones, computers and other office equipment. Officers who patrol the Spectrum will use the station to make calls, file police reports and interview witnesses.

Though the station is not designed as a drop-in center for the public, officials said it will bring a needed law enforcement presence to a far-flung neighborhood that is more than five miles from the police headquarters on Harvard Avenue.

“Geographically, the way the city is laid out, the main police station is at one end of the city,” said Police Chief Charles S. Brobeck. “This gives (officers) a place to do their work without driving all the way back to the station and using all that time.”

By keeping more officers in the area, Brobeck said, he hopes to increase their visibility and make it more convenient for the public to deal with the police.

Patrolling the Spectrum area is a beat like no other in the city, officials said. The area has practically no residential areas. Rather, the Spectrum’s landscape is dotted with dozens of office buildings, research centers and business parks that are home to a variety of high-tech and biomedical companies.

The district--near the intersection of the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways--is still growing. An amusement park and movie complex are planned in the area.

“During the daytime, you have a very transient population of 100,000 people,” said Lt. Bob Lennert, who is in charge of the satellite station. “But after 6 p.m., you may have just a few hundred people. It’s deserted, and that’s a great opportunity for the criminal element.”

Crime in the area has remained steady over the last few years. Office burglaries are one common problem, but the Spectrum has also seen its share of more sophisticated white-collar crimes including embezzlement, said Lennert.

“In a residential burglary, you might lose $30,000 to $40,000 in property,” he said. “At the Spectrum, (a thief) can pick up $100,000 in one sweep.”

Many Spectrum workers are unfamiliar with the area and are sometimes unaware of suspicious activities, officials said. “They don’t know their way around the area except to get in and out,” Lennert said. “So you don’t have the eyes and ears that know who belongs in there and who doesn’t.”

One to four officers are assigned to the Spectrum, depending on the day and time. The substation will allow them to stay in the area for greater parts of their shifts and respond more quickly to calls, Brobeck and Lennert said.

The facility will also give police a nearby office to conduct private interviews with witnesses or crime victims. Sometimes, workers or employers don’t report illegal activities because they don’t want uniformed police to come to their workplaces where other employees and clients might see the officers, Lennert said.