COUNCILMAN, MAYOR AT ODDS OVER ANTI-CRIME PROGRAM.

Byline: Rick Orlov  Staff Writer

Sounding a note of concern over a new anti-crime effort, a city councilman on Friday urged a go-slow approach to implementing Mayor Richard Riordan's Operation Healthy Neighborhoods plan.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who has often been at odds with Riordan in the past, said he is concerned the program - scheduled for City Council approval on Tuesday - has failed to undergo adequate scrutiny.

``I support the idea behind this, but I don't want us to go ahead and hire 115 people and end up just wasting money without any coordination or accountability,'' Ridley-Thomas said.

A Riordan spokesman, however, said the mayor believes the protections are built into the program he has proposed and that he is disappointed in Ridley-Thomas.

``It's unfortunate he is the only council member who is opposed to this,'' spokesman Peter Hidalgo said. ``This was developed with input from the community and experts on violent crime. It's unfortunate that he is not going along with the majority of the City Council.

``We hope, once he understands the work that has gone into this, that he will agree it's worthwhile.''

The program was unveiled by Riordan in September in response to reports of rising crime levels throughout the city and was embraced by Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and a majority of City Council members.

It has been on a fast track in the City Council with two committees only giving it a cursory review before sending it on to the council for final approval.

With first-year costs of $15 million from the city's general fund - along with some $40 million in federal grants - Riordan envisioned a plan to target high-crime areas with officers as well as deal with quality-of-life issues such as cleaning up parks and developing a youth employment program.

``As currently visualized, Operation Healthy Neighborhoods is virtually a stand-alone program,'' Ridley-Thomas wrote to Riordan. ``It fails to demonstrate any coordination and integration with existing programs . . . that have very similar missions and goals.''

And, Ridley-Thomas said, the proposal ignores the past failures of other programs, which he did not mention by name.

In the past, Riordan and other city officials were critical of similar efforts - operated under the much-debated L.A. Bridges program - for a lack of coordination with other agencies as well as low accountability.

Ridley-Thomas said he is concerned that, among other things, no specific crime-prevention program is in place, there is no coordination with other areas, no specific accountability provisions and a lack of inclusion of local community specialists.

``Operation Healthy Neighborhoods does not have clearly defined goals and objectives,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``Where does the accountability for the success or failure of Operation Healthy Neighborhoods ultimately lie? My recommendation is we take a step back and work in concert to insure a high-quality, effective program.''