Police show makes a comeback

Gary Moskowitz

After a year on hiatus, the Glendale Police Department’s live call-in

television show is scheduled to return at the end of the summer,

taking viewers behind the scenes of local crime fighting.

The show, formerly called “G COPS,” was scheduled to return at 7

p.m. to Charter Communications Channel 6 beginning Aug. 5, but

because of a delay in the availability of new telephone lines at the

recently completed Glendale Police Department headquarters, the

show’s return will be put off until September.

The show will return under a new moniker, “Behind the Badge.”

A new episode will air every other month, and each episode will be

rebroadcast periodically, Community Service Officer Sherri Servillo

said. Servillo will host the show.

The first show will include an interview with Glendale Police

Chief Randy Adams.

“We wanted to formally introduce him to the community, and allow

him to talk about our new police building and our 2004-05 budget,”

Servillo said.

Adams, the former chief of police in Simi Valley, replaced former

Chief Russell Siverling, and was appointed as Glendale’s police chief

in December 2002.

The city dedicated the new police station, which is across the

street from the old station at 141 N. Isabel St., in March. Police

moved into the new facility May 29.

The City Council voted 5-0 earlier this month to spend about $1.5

million in reserve funds to hire 25 more officers and 11 more

support staff this fiscal year. Those changes will allow the Glendale

Police Department to beef up its presence in the community, Glendale

Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

“Normally, when a problem comes up, you dispatch officers, they

handle it and they drive away,” Lorenz said. “But community policing

is more about identifying solutions to continuing problems.

“Community policing includes having community meetings and

educational programs for local students,” he said. “These are things

we have not seen in a few years, because we have not had the

manpower. People in the community want to talk to officers. And

during budget cuts, what do you cut out? The community meetings or

having officers to send to emergency calls.”

“G COPS” began airing in 1998, and was considered the channel’s

most-watched show in 2001, according to viewer polls.

For broadcast times for “Behind the Badge,” after the show begins

airing, check the schedule on the city’s website at

www.ci.glendale.ca.us.