Merchants to Pay for Police Overtime

A program that allows private businesses to buy city police officer overtime will be expanded to the Little Saigon area under an agreement approved this week.

Bridgecreek Development, one of the largest commercial property owners and managers in Little Saigon, will pay $38,400 for 1,200 hours of police overtime during the next 13 months.

The arrangement will enhance police services along Bolsa Avenue from Magnolia to Bushard streets, Police Chief James Cook said.

“The key part of this is that it is true community-oriented policing to address the fear of crime,” Cook said.

The Police-Business Empowered Partnership program, one of the first of its kind in the nation, was approved in February 1997 by the City Council.

It allows businesses, as an alternative to hiring private security firms, to buy added protection that comes with all the benefits of an experienced police force.

The first customer was Summit Commercial, owner of the Westminster Center shopping mall, which opened the Police Department’s first privately funded substation in September.

At the time, some constitutional scholars questioned the program’s fairness in regard to the purchase of extra police protection. But Cook said his department examined those issues in drafting the plan.

“It’s an enhancement, not a replacement,” he said, adding that regular patrols of the area will not be reduced.

Kathy Buchoz, spokeswoman for Bridgecreek Development, said the added police visibility will help reduce shoppers’ and tourists’ fears of crime in an area that is perceived as having a high level of gang activity.

“It’s a stigma that we’re trying to overcome,” she said. “But this is a safe area, and if the police presence makes people feel better, that’s very positive for Little Saigon.”