8 MORE OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO AIRPORT BOMB DETAIL.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

The Police Commission voted Tuesday to assign eight additional LAPD officers to Los Angeles International Airport to provide faster response in detecting and disposing of bombs and suspicious packages.

Cmdr. Dave Kalish, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman, said the decision to assign a unit of officers and bomb-sniffing dogs full-time to the airport makes sense as the facility continues to grow in use.

``It's a great resource for the LAPD bomb detection unit,'' Kalish said. ``They will allow an immediate response and will definitely enhance safety at the airport.''

Part of the $478,859 cost of the program will be reimbursed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

In the past, bomb squad officers have responded to the airport as needed, but that often meant delays as officers drove to the facility from elsewhere in the city.

``Bomb investigations have also increased greatly at LAX since the (TWA Flight 800) airplane disaster, resulting in costly disruption to airport operations when terminals are temporarily closed and flights delayed,'' said a report by Police Chief Bernard C. Parks.

Police officials say calls about suspicious packages are up since the Unabomber threat forced the city to put LAX on a higher level of alert in 1995.

Airport officials declined comment on the proposal Tuesday, but they said last year that there were 69 calls for bomb detection officers at the airport in 1996, up from 20 in 1992.