WILSHIRE AREA : Advisory Board Seeks to Link Police and Citizens

The Wilshire Community Police Advisory Board is sponsoring a town hall meeting on Wednesday for people who live and work in the area patrolled by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division.

The meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Center for Enriched Studies, 5931 W. 18th St., is scheduled to include guest speakers John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban League, and Police Chief Willie L. Williams, as well as a discussion of the advisory board’s plan to create a community database.

The Wilshire Community Safety Network database would include information on crime prevention, resource directories, maps and census data, as well as articles on community policing and community bulletin board items, said George Richter, a member of the board. The goal of the plan is to link all community groups and individuals who are committed to improving public safety and increasing communication within and between neighborhoods and between citizens and the police, Richter said.

The advisory board, founded in November, 1992, has 24 members who represent the eight basic coverage areas of the Wilshire Division, which is bounded approximately by Normandie Avenue to the east, La Cienega Boulevard to the west, Beverly Boulevard to the north and the Santa Monica Freeway to the south, along with a small portion of Southwest Los Angeles.

The board’s mission is to help the Police Department implement community-based policing in the Wilshire Division and bring community concerns to the attention of the police.

Information: (213) 470-9900.