Encino : Police Lauded, but Crime Still a Concern

Encino residents applauded the Los Angeles Police Department while at the same time holding its feet to the fire on crime worries at a town hall-style meeting at the Encino Community Center on Wednesday night.

The meeting, sponsored by the Encino Property Owners Assn., featured a panel discussion about crime prevention, which included City Councilman Marvin Braude, Police Deputy Chief Martin Pomeroy and Assistant Chief Bayan Lewis, an assistant to Police Chief Willie Williams.

“There was this ambivalence,” said Bill Jasper, president of the homeowner group. “People were being supportive of the police on the one hand, but they were thinking that we are not getting enough resources on the other hand.”

Police officials said that the San Fernando Valley will get its fair share of the new police officers that Mayor Richard Riordan is trying to recruit, and that officer attrition has sometimes made it difficult to beef up the force. Police officials also said that crime has been down in the Valley, and that it has declined particularly in Encino Hills, partly due to the vigilance of Neighborhood Watch groups, according to association leaders.

Braude said police have made progress in implementing the reforms recommended by the Christopher Commission, according to association past president Robert Glushon.