EDITORIAL PROACTIVE POLICING CITY LEADERS TAKE STEPS TO USE LIMITED LAPD RESOURCES MORE EFFICIENTLY.

AS the ring of gunshots signaled the shattering of a fragile gang truce in Panorama City on Sunday, the Los Angeles Police Department sprang into action, trying to make sure that two slayings don't spiral into a full-out gang war.

On Monday, the LAPD announced that it would flood the area with cops, hoping that a strong blue presence would put a damper on further gang activity. Time will tell whether the strategy works, but credit department officials for having the foresight to intervene early, rather than ignoring the problem until it grew more complex and far more costly to address.

Proactive policing seems to be all the rage in Los Angeles these days.

At the Police Commission, officials have committed themselves to speeding up the process for conducting use-of-force investigations. They are holding extra sessions to plow through a backlog that dates back a year, and also considering new policies that could accelerate future inquiries.

And though it might not at first seem like it, swifter use-of-force hearings tie directly into fighting gang violence.

It is slow investigations that make many impacted communities weary of police, and thus often less likely to support cops' efforts to fight gangsters in their neighborhoods. Likewise, it is in out-of-control, gang- dominated areas where officers are likely to feel most threatened and resort to the use of force, sometimes unnecessarily.

Speedier investigations are also a matter of simple justice for innocent L.A. cops, whose careers and reputations are unfairly put on hold by the current review system that can often take as long as a year.

Thus containing gang feuds, such as the one brewing in Panorama City, and expediting internal police justice serve the same purpose: Making Los Angeles a safer, more easily policed city.

In a city that has far too few cops - a situation that's unlikely to change anytime soon - officials must make the best possible use of the limited resources at their disposal. Proactive policing isn't just good public policy, it's a matter of necessity.