San Fernando : Police Lobby Offers Safe Haven for ATM

City of San Fernando Public Works Director Mike Drake was the first to cash out.

He approached the new automated teller bank machine installed Thursday in the lobby of the San Fernando Police Department headquarters, stuck in his card and punched in his personal identification number.

Bea Walker, branch manager of the U.S. Postal Service Credit Union, which supplies the new machine with money, didn’t know how much money Drake withdrew.

And Drake--an experienced public official--didn’t say.

The cash machine was installed in the police station lobby to give patrons an added sense of security in withdrawing money from their accounts--an alternative to using ATMs in less-trafficked areas where residents might be vulnerable to robbery.

Police officials say the goal is also to encourage more residents to drop by the department and become more familiar with police officers, programs and services offered at the station.

In the San Fernando Valley, ATMs are already in place in the Los Angeles Police Department’s Devonshire and Van Nuys divisions. LAPD began its ATM pilot program in 1993, after a spate of slayings at bank machines, including the murder of a pregnant woman at an ATM in Sherman Oaks.

San Fernando city employees who belong to the U.S. Postal Service Credit Union can use the machine without incurring service fees. Others will be charged fees that vary depending on amounts set by individual banks and credit organizations, Walker said.

In a few months, the ATM will be modified to dispense postage stamps in addition to greenbacks, Walker added.

The police station lobby is open 24 hours. The station is located at 910 1st St.