LAPD to Release Site Maps of Neighborhood Crimes

The Los Angeles Police Department will once again allow public access to maps showing crimes by neighborhood, after Valley homeowners’ groups criticized a ban on release of the information.

In a letter to a Woodland Hills homeowner earlier this month, the commanding officer of the Valley Bureau, Deputy Chief Michael J. Bostic, wrote: “After careful review of the Operations-Valley Bureau policy not to release actual crime map information, I have reconsidered.

“Effective immediately,” Bostic continued, “crime maps, not determined to be an operational strategy, will be available to the community upon request.”

Bostic was unavailable to explain the “operational” exception to the release policy.

Plotted at police headquarters, the color-coded maps are intended to help illustrate crime patterns in each of the 18 LAPD divisions. Different symbols are used to designate crimes such as burglary, car theft or rape.

Bostic announced in May that the maps, which had been available on request for more than a year, would be kept within the department, saying the information they contained could sometimes compromise crime-fighting efforts and endanger residents.

In addition, police complained that it had become a burden to deal with the requests from security companies and real estate agents who used the maps to promote their businesses.

Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., Wednesday praised the police department for reversing the policy.

“I think this is a good sign. These maps were very helpful in instructing us on what to guard against and what protective measures to take,” Close said.

Upon learning of the department’s change of heart, Capt. Richard Wahler of the North Hollywood Division said he had no objection to distributing the maps as long as they were properly explained.

“This is not just a map with dots on it,” Wahler said. “The information can be easily misinterpreted without a proper explanation. That was my concern. I saw some potential for harm.”

Valley homeowner groups criticized the move to keep the maps from the public, some of them calling it an attempt to whittle away community-based policing.