DEVONSHIRE BEGINS PROGRAM TO PAIR OFFICERS, NEIGHBORHOODS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

A pilot program aimed at making police more familiar with the neighborhoods they patrol started Sunday at the LAPD's Devonshire Division, but residents may not notice anything different right away, police said.

Under the Los Angeles Police Department's "district policing" program, Devonshire Division is divided into three "mini divisions," each staffed by a lieutenant and platoon of officers.

Within each mini-division, officers are assigned to their own areas so that they can get to know the neighborhood and its problems, police said.

"They're trying to keep the same officers in the same (geographically assigned) cars for long periods of time," said Devonshire station Sgt. Michael Klein.

Differences under district policing may be subtle, police said. Devonshire Division already used a similar system and the number of officers on duty at any given time will not change.

For example, on the Sunday swing shift, 24 officers patrolled Devonshire. They were relieved by a dozen officers on the graveyard shift, Klein said.

District policing, Klein said, "is still in the infancy stage. We're still feeling our way around."

The program is under way in three other areas of the city: downtown, Venice and Watts.