SEAL BEACH : Beach Safety Office Construction Nears

Construction of the long-awaited pier-side Community Safety Office is expected to begin in several weeks.

Beach area residents hope police-trained volunteers at the office along with a newly assigned downtown police officer will help reduce crime and graffiti in their neighborhoods. With building plans recently approved by the California Coastal Commission, the office is expected to open by the end of September.

Residents and merchants, unable to win city funding for a police substation near the beach, are donating time and materials for construction of the office.

Construction is expected to take two to three weeks, according to Lee Whittenberg, director of development services, but must await completion of Coastal Commission paperwork.

Seal Beach Police Chief Bill Stearns said a new officer assigned to the downtown beach area will use the safety office as a base of operations, patrolling on foot and bicycle. The officer will also patrol the beach with an all-terrain vehicle.

The safety office will be staffed with police science students from Golden West College, who will earn college credits for their volunteer work. The students will receive crime prevention training from the Police Department and may be trained to take reports of petty crimes, Stearns said.

The volunteers will give information about the city to visitors and call in police when needed.

City officials hope eventually to keep the safety office open beyond daylight hours with volunteers.