LAPD’s Kroeker Takes His Mission North : Law enforcement: The deputy chief delivers the community policing ‘gospel’ to Thousand Oaks.

Exuding the energy and charisma of a fitness guru, a top Los Angeles police official gave Thousand Oaks residents a crash course in community policing recently.

Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker, commanding officer of the South Bureau, which has spearheaded the Los Angeles Police Department’s community policing program in south Los Angeles, encouraged more than 100 rapt listeners at the Civic Arts Plaza to move toward law enforcement that includes active community participation.

“Instead of focusing on the symptoms, let’s go after the cure,” Kroeker said. “We need to look for positivity in the age of negativity.”

Kroeker is considered an expert on community policing and started a widely praised program in the San Fernando Valley.

But the program in the South Bureau has faced skepticism and criticism from some residents and city officials who question how effective the program can be if the Police Department, rather than people in the community, controls it.

The concept of community policing has already been enthusiastically received by Thousand Oaks residents, city officials and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Cmdr. Kathy Kemp, who serves as Thousand Oaks police chief, said two deputies have just been assigned as full-time community liaisons, and a police academy for community members will graduate its fourth class of resident volunteers this month.

More than 40 Neighborhood Watch groups throughout the Conejo Valley are already working closely with police, using voice mail systems to get weekly updates on crime in their neighborhoods.

So Kroeker was preaching to the converted as he wielded a magic marker, a poster-sized note pad and considerable theatrical flair to illustrate ways to cut crime while boosting community and police morale.

“Community policing is a process of recruiting not only fresh recruits,” he said, “but also recruiting the people we forget to bring on, the people with all the resources, those who are already out in the neighborhood.”

By assigning officers specifically to interact with community leaders--ideally four people per city block--Kroeker said his department has a better chance of finding and fixing problems.

Making neighborhood leaders feel they are really involved is a key to the program’s success, he said. Stroking their egos helps too.

“We give them an ID card that looks like a police identification,” he said. “We have a swearing-in ceremony; I insist on it. We give them a little oath.”

Occasionally, his department has to turn away people who are more interested in being police groupies than doing good in their neighborhoods, he said. And then there are the leaders who turn out to be criminals.

“One of our community block leaders was recently arrested for major credit-card fraud,” Kroeker said, shaking his head. “He was charging $20,000 a week. Oh, and he loved our ID card.”

Another pitfall of the program is persuading veteran police officers to take a new approach to law enforcement that includes telling community members about available social services.

“Some of these guys think, ‘That’s for social workers, and I’m a gunfighter, ‘ “ he said, assuming a mock macho stance amid titters from the crowd.

And police officers are a more sensitive lot than residents might think, Kroeker said. They like positive reinforcement, including recognition during city council meetings.

“Police officers in the age of condemnation need a lot of commendation,” he said. “They are sensitive and easily hurt. You can’t give them enough plaques.”

Lest audience members think the community policing idea is too warm and fuzzy, Kroeker had some tough-guy reassurances to offer.

“We should be ready to hook and book at any time,” he said. “My guys are out there doing that right now. I always say, ‘A full jail is a happy jail.’ ”