CHIEF TO GIVE VALLEY A GRAPHIC VIEW OF CRIME.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

In the LAPD's Van Nuys Division, the crime problem of the month is car theft, with Toyotas, Fords and Dodges being boosted at the rate of six a day.

In the Devonshire Division, there has been a slight jump in homicides.

In the West Valley, aggravated assaults are a primary concern, while Foothill Division detectives are worried about gun crimes.

Those and other crime problems will get an unusual public airing Wednesday, when Chief Bernard C. Parks holds a town hall-style meeting in Van Nuys to give Valley residents a close look at the Los Angeles Police Department's new crime analysis program. Police call it the Focus, Accountability, Strategy, Teamwork, Response and Coordination Program - the FASTRAC Program.

Residents who attend the 5:30 p.m. meeting at the Church on the Way in Van Nuys will be able to watch the LAPD's top command officers dissect crime patterns in each Valley division and discuss strategies for dealing with the problems.

``The purpose is to, for the first time, bring to people in the Valley a real-life look at FASTRAC, which brings accountability to crime-fighting,'' said Lt. Fred Booker, an LAPD spokesman.

The computer-assisted crime-analysis program pioneered in New York City gives field commanders and the top LAPD brass up-to-the-minute statistics on crime in every neighborhood of the city.

Computer graphics will be projected onto large screens so police officials and the public can figuratively see where and when crime is spiking. The program can pinpoint specific crimes, such as burglaries, by location and time of day.

That information can then be used in FASTRAC meetings to plot strategy, such as redeploying patrol cars onto a certain street where burglars are active. The information also helps the chief and deputy chiefs critique the performance of field commanders in responding to crime trends.

Parks will go to the meeting Wednesday with generally good news for Valley residents.

Crime spree stopped

The most serious crimes - homicides, robberies, rapes, assaults - are down about 9 percent so far this year in the San Fernando Valley compared with the same period of last year, said Deputy Chief Michael Bostic, who oversees policing in the Valley.

In addition, a major crime spree apparently has been stopped with the arrest this week of a suspect in a string of five rapes and 30 robberies at Valley beauty salons and restaurants.

Still, Parks will hear reports Wednesday from each division that there are still some crime trends in the Valley that require special attention. Each of the five Valley divisions will be given 10 minutes to discuss crime problems, with an emphasis on trends in robberies, rapes and homicides.

In the Devonshire Division, which covers the northwest San Fernando Valley, there have been 10 homicides so far this year, up from nine during the same period in 1997, according to Lt. Joe Eddy.

``Most of those are in a concentrated area and are gang-related,'' Eddy said.

Gang violence in the North Hills area is being blamed for the higher death count.

Gang homicides are also up in the Foothill Division, which covers the northeast Valley, Bostic said. At the same time, crimes involving guns have caught the attention of Foothill officers.

There were 20 gun crimes in the northeast Valley last month, including shootings, robberies and assault, said Officer Fred Thompson, who heads the Foothill crime analysis unit.

Contributing factors may have included the heat wave last month, putting tempers on edge. Many of the crimes also involved people who had been drinking, Thompson said.

West Valley assaults

West Valley Division officers mention the same reasons for the worrisome number of assaults in their territory, Bostic said. While aggravated assaults are down 10 percent in most divisions, they dropped only 1 percent in the West Valley.

``In FASTRAC we try to figure out what the other areas of the city are doing that crime is down more there,'' Bostic said.

In Van Nuys, 180 car thefts during the past month have patrol officers on the lookout for suspicious activity at shopping centers and other areas where there are parking lots, said Officer Tim Meicher.

``We have a problem along Ventura Boulevard with vehicles being stolen and being broken into,'' Meicher said.

A plan of attack has been developed and may be discussed Wednesday.

LAPD officials will also use the meeting to talk to the public about crime prevention.

The meeting, open to all, will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Church on the Way, 14300 Sherman Way, Van Nuys.

CRIME FIGHTERS' TARGETS

Crimes that are getting special attention in San Fernando Valley police divisions include:

--Auto theft in the Van Nuys Division, where 180 cars have been stolen in the last month.

--Homicide in the Devonshire Division, which has ten killings this year, compared to nine last year.

--Aggravated assaults in the West Valley Division, where the assaults are down 1 percent this year, but the assault rate in the rest of the city has dropped 10 percent.

--Gun crimes in the Foothill Division, where there have been 20 gun crimes in the past month.

--Robberies and rapes in the North Hollywood Division, which is concentrating efforts to reduce those crimes.

CAPTION(S):

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MAP: Crime fighters' targets

Daily News

Box: Crime fighters' targets (see text)

Source: Los Angeles Police Dept.