Overtime Pay for the LAPD

* Re “LAPD to Cut Overtime Pay, Special Patrols,” July 11.

Again many of our civic leaders are showing a total disregard for the wishes of their constituency. Numerous surveys and polls have shown that a majority of residents of Los Angeles hold safe streets, parks and communities to be of primary concern. Yet the City Council would give away millions in federal funds by not increasing the police force to the required level. Now because the council agreed to pay the police a salary commensurate with neighboring agencies, it wants to remove officers from the streets by cutting special patrols and overtime.

I found it apropos that The Times ran the story about the suggested cut in LAPD patrols next to a story about improving Balboa Park. Due to crime, most parks have a curfew of 10 p.m., and even without a curfew, their safety is questionable after dark. Before we spend our scarce funds on art centers or an ecology museum (City Councilman Richard Alarcon’s proposal), let’s clean up our streets and get tough on crime. The LAPD deserves the support of the City Council and all the resources we can muster.

GARY KALYN

Northridge