Valley Traffic Unit Speeding Onto Internet

As a veteran San Fernando Valley traffic cop, Officer Clark Baker has traveled all sorts of roads, but none have prepared him for the ride he hopes to take Friday when he helps his division merge onto the information superhighway.

The Valley Traffic Division is going into cyberspace.

This week, Baker is putting the final touches on a new Web site that will be loaded with information on the Valley Traffic Division. With a few clicks of a mouse, a visitor will be able to access local traffic statistics, get brief summaries on recent traffic fatalities or find out about traffic crime trends.

“It basically opens the doors for anyone in the San Fernando Valley, or the world for that matter, to get a look at what we’re doing here at the Valley Traffic Division,” Baker said.

The Los Angeles Police Department is studying ways to make itself more accessible through the Internet and has set up a Web site committee with Baker as a member.

In the meantime, several other divisions already have their own Web sites.

In some cases, the thanks goes in part to local residents for their help.

A Northridge doctor, for instance, set up the West Valley Division’s Web site, which also features information on the Devonshire Division, LAPD Officer Tim Kidd said.

The Web site includes information from the divisions’ monthly newsletters as well as descriptions of wanted suspects.

Kidd, who works at West Valley, said so far the response has been amazing and widespread.

“I get e-mail from all over the world,” Kidd said. “I once got a message from a chief constable in Tanzania who said he was coming to Los Angeles and wanted to know if he could stop by and visit the station.”

Baker said he hopes his Web site will make it easier for residents to learn about the Valley Traffic Division in a more positive setting, given that the only time most residents come in contact with traffic officers is when they have either been pulled over for traffic offenses or have been in an accident.

In addition to traffic statistics, Baker said the Web site will include a schedule of upcoming Valley traffic events, such as safety presentations, recruitment information and job fairs.

Web site visitors will also be able to e-mail Baker with traffic-related questions that he will either answer or forward to the appropriate person.

Baker said he donated space for the Valley Traffic Division’s Web site from an Internet address he obtained for a private consulting firm he runs.

That firm shows companies with large vehicle fleets how to reduce their insurance rates by teaching employees to avoid collisions and tickets.

The Valley Traffic Web site will also include links to other LAPD-related Web sites, making it easier for residents to learn what’s going on in their neighborhoods.

“Last year, officers at the Valley Traffic Division wrote 35% more tickets, and in the same year there was a 28% reduction in fatalities,” Baker said.

“I think those are important statistics to have out to the public . . . it opens the door to community policing that much wider.”

Baker said he hopes to have the Web site up and running by Friday. The Web site address is https://www.thrutraffic.com/vtd