Central Los Angeles : CHARACTER ASSASSINATION

Public drunkenness and parking cars on lawns can wreak havoc where it hurts most: a neighborhood’s image.

To fight back, residents in Crenshaw and West Adams have formed a Quality of Life Committee, part of citywide community-policing efforts.

Committee chairwoman Pamela Watkins said a recent conference with Southwest Division officers and other city workers has had immediate effects: Many of the group’s 160 members now attend morning roll calls to voice their concerns to police, and officers have instructed residents on how to spot and report neighborhood problems such as auto “chop shops.”