CITY OFFICIALS FAULT WHITE HOUSE OVER NO POLICE FUNDING.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Los Angeles officials, led by Mayor Richard Riordan, criticized the Clinton administration Friday for failing to include the city in the latest round of federal funding to hire more local police officers.

``We have played by the rules and done our part to reduce crime in our corner of the country,'' Riordan said. ``We have demonstrated success and it doesn't seem fair to have the administration ignore us.''

President Clinton announced on Friday $106 million in grants to hire 700 officers in 18 cities.

``There are still some neighborhoods in America, and too many of them, where crime hasn't receded far enough or fast enough,'' Clinton said in a Rose Garden ceremony.

``We have to focus our resources on high-crime, high-need neighborhoods to bring the benefits of community policing to every area. In the difficult areas, that means we have to reach a critical mass of police officers and community policing before it can make the necessary difference,'' he said.

But that did not appease Riordan or other officials, including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

``It's hard to argue that Los Angeles, despite its progress, doesn't have major gang and violence problems,'' Feinstein said. ``Any funding formula designed to address these problems that excludes Los Angeles seems to me to be a failed formula.''

Several members of the Los Angeles congressional delegation also criticized the failure to include funding for the city. Among those were Reps. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills, Julian Dixon, D-Los Angeles, James Rogan, R-Pasadena, and David Dreier, R-Covina.

``(We) have fulfilled our commitment and been so steadfast in our fight against crime that the crime rate has dropped by 40 percent,'' they said in a joint statement. ``Instead of being rewarded with more federal funding, Los Angeles is being penalized for its crime-fighting results.''

Berman said it looked as if the administration was turning its back on the city.

``They have played a very important role in helping Los Angeles build up its police force and we remain one of the most underpoliced urban areas in the country,'' Berman said. ``I want to see this administration support a fourth-year grant for the city.''

Chief Bernard C. Parks of the Los Angeles Police Department had no comment and was referring calls to Riordan's office.

In the past five years, Los Angeles has received $186 million in various federal police-related funding. However, Riordan did not include any such funding in the city budget for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Deputy Mayor Robin Kramer said the city also is upset that the new round of funding requires no local match - unlike previous rounds when Los Angeles was required to come up with a share of local dollars.

``They say they have all these criteria, but they aren't recognizing what the real needs are,'' Kramer said. ``We were after them all the time to be more specific on the criteria and tell us where we can make changes in our grant application. But they never did.''

Federal officials said they understood the disappointment, but that other funds would be available in future programs as part of the 1994 crime bill in which Clinton is seeking to add 100,000 police officers to the streets.

``We will make a decision in the future based on how this program works out,'' said Justice Department spokesman Kevin Avery. ``These cities selected were based on a series of criteria and demographic factors.''

Crime has been dropping across the nation for the past four years and is at a 25-year low in some cities. But the president said more needs to be done, and the new grants are more flexible in allowing individual police departments wide latitude in how to spend the money.

Los Angeles has had a major buildup in its Police Department over the past five years, growing from 6,400 to 9,800 officers.

However, it still leaves the city with a police force of 28 officers for every 10,000 residents - lower than some cities selected for the new grants.

Funds were awarded to the following cities, which have the following number of police officers per 10,000 residents:

Baltimore 40; Bessemer, Ala., not available; Birmingham, Ala., 28; Buffalo, N.Y., 29; Camden, N.J., 38; Chicago, 44; Cleveland, 34; El Paso, Texas, 17; Flint, Mich., 21; Fort Pierce, Fla., 29; Fresno, 12; Greenville, Miss., not available; Hartford, Conn., 25; McAllen, Texas, 19; Miami, 30; Monroe, La., 28; Muskegon, Mich., not available; and San Bernardino, 15.

The Justice Department did not specify the amount of money provided for each city.