South Bay : POLICE ON THE STREETS
Loiterers and public drinkers used to hang out on Inglewood street corners regularly, but police say a new community-based policing problem has put that practice to a halt.
About nine months ago Chief Oliver Thompson said the department divided the city into four beats. Two lead officers head up a patrol of each beat and as part of the assignment they deal directly with residents in the community. Thompson said the project has decreased crime significantly because residents have helped identify problem areas.
“Since making contact with the people in the community we’ve been able to put name and a face on the problems,” Thomspon said.
Crimes in this airport city is down by more than 200 this year. In 1994 there were a reported 3,808 crimes compared with 3,585 this year. There were fewer murders, burglaries, arsons and auto thefts while forcible rapes and aggravated assaults increased slightly. Overall, violent crime was up very slightly, 2%, while property crimes went down by the same amount.
Thompson attributes the drop in property crime to increased community policing. He said the police force has added more officers to the street and that combined with the new police beats has led to a lower number of street crimes.
“We’re trying to reach out to the community more,” Thompson said. “We’ve received a lot of support on this effort.”
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