IS LAPD LOSING WAR? VALLEY CRIME CLIMBS WHILE POLICE PATROL STRENGTH SHRINKS.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen and Alexa Haussler Staff Writers

As violent crime rises across Los Angeles, police and city officials have conceded that the widening shortage of patrol officers has crippled crime fighting and reached a ``critical level.''

The ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department have fallen by 998 sworn officers from the department goal of 10,176, leaving just 9,178 left to patrol, investigate and supervise in America's second-largest city.

In the San Fernando Valley, with a much lower deployment of officers per capita than the rest of the city, the number of officers has fallen by 132, or 8 percent, as compared with last year.

``It's critical,'' said Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee. ``The picture is probably going to get more difficult in the future unless we really can do something to encourage candidates of all sorts.''

While police struggle to recruit, the shortage has been made worse by Mayor Richard Riordan's and Chief Bernard C. Parks' decision to shift 168 officers into the senior lead program and away from patrol. Parks had resisted the move in hopes of keeping these officers on patrol, but relented under enormous pressure from the council and neighborhood groups.

Calls for reform and an impending federal consent decree following the Rampart Division police scandal also will take away hundreds of supervisors and detectives so they can work in Internal Affairs.

``It's a juggling act,'' said Lt. Horace Frank. ``If we don't have the officers out there in a visible force, it will impact the level of crime.''

Focusing new attention on the shortage is three recent gang-related shootings in the Valley, including one incident when an errant gang bullet wounded a 9-year-old Pacoima girl as she watched television in her home.

Officer accountability

Community activists said they understand the frustration of police but believe residents must unite to hold police and city officials accountable.

``Can they look that 9-year-old straight in the face and say: You know mija, I'm sorry, but we don't have enough officers and crime is rampant,'' said Paula Rangel, a community activist in the San Fernando Valley.

``Officers are looking the other way and crime is rampant. It's time that we get answers and we can't wait for a mayoral campaign. This community needs to hold the police accountable,'' she said.

City leaders said they have begun focusing on finding solutions beyond law enforcement.

``Yes, we need to fill the vacancies that are in the Police Department and have officers doing police work,'' said Councilman Alex Padilla, who represents the Northeast Valley, where the girl was shot. ``But the Police Department alone cannot create a safe city. They need participation and support from the community.''

Padilla has launched a series of community meetings. The first one was Thursday and discussed how to stem violence. Among his ideas are setting up more youth programs and establishing a police substation at Pacoima's Hubert H. Humphrey Park, historically a popular hangout for gangs.

The numbers show how crime has risen while officer patrols have declined. Valleywide, violent crimes are up 8.2 percent, while citywide they've increased 10 percent this year over last, according to LAPD figures.

As of Sept. 24, the LAPD's Devonshire Division was down 28 officers compared to last year, with a 9.9 percent increase in violent crimes, according to the LAPD's preliminary figures.

The Foothill Division was down 20 officers, with violent crimes up 7.8 percent this year compared to last year.

North Hollywood was down 19 officers, with an 11.3 percent increase in violent crimes.

West Valley was hit most significantly, down 43 officers with 11.6 percent more violent crime.

Van Nuys is also down 20 officers, yet is the only Valley division showing a decrease in violent crimes, with a 2.9 percent decline.

At the same time, arrests across Los Angeles have decreased 25.6 percent compared to last year. Valleywide, arrests are down 28.5 percent.

Officers frustrated 

Police officials blame the decreasing arrests on fewer officers and thousands of hours lost during training for the Democratic National Convention in August.

But patrol officers also argue they are less likely to make arrests for fear they will become ensnared in the police chief's discipline policy. That requires all complaints - no matter how baseless - to be investigated and recorded in the officer's personnel file.

Officers also say they are looking at working at other police departments because of the LAPD's lack of a compressed work schedule and fallout from the Rampart scandal.

Police Commissioner Dean Hansell blamed the declining number of officers on the economy.

``People that historically may have been interested in working for the department can go to work for a dot-com,'' he said. ``It's obviously not as dangerous as going to work for any law enforcement department and has things like stock options.''

The city has poured money into recruitment efforts, including sending recruiters to college campuses and military installations throughout the country.

But the department cannot hire enough people to keep up with the number leaving, Cmdr. Betty Kelepecz, in charge of the LAPD's hiring, has said.

September's Police Academy class was canceled because there were too few people.

< Living in fear

For residents, including Maria Reyna, who lives near where the 9-year-old was shot, the lack of patrols is as evident as the rise in drug dealers and gangsters on her street.

``Their attitude is, unless somebody spills blood or somebody's hurt, nothing can be done,'' Reyna said. ``What scares me is when the sun goes down, I have to bring in my kids.''

Even more unnerving, Rangel said, is the officers' lagging response is well-known to gang members who now have a ``green light'' for violence.

``Gang members know that it's OK to shoot because there are not enough police officers. Everybody's looking the other way,'' Rangel said.

The senior-lead program, although reinstated at the expense of patrol officers, will give residents easy access to the police to solve neighborhood problems.

``Really, part of improving the safety in the community is to get back to the policing that used to exist, where people had relationships with the police officers in the department,'' Padilla said.

But police officials acknowledge that stretching officers to accommodate the senior-lead program will leave holes in patrols.

``We believe those officers should be out in the field. It's going to have a tremendous impact on us deploying officers into the field,'' Frank said. ``It's going to definitely have an impact on response times. We have to come up with a plan to minimize the effects.''

Rebuilding the anti-gang unit after the Rampart scandal has become difficult.

``Trying to get someone to get in here is hard because they're afraid of repercussions. They're afraid to do any aggressive police work. It has a lot to do with the Rampart scandal,'' said an officer who asked that his name be withheld.

``I feel sorry for those people out there in the community. You can't do the thorough background checks because we've got things backing up.''

And there are other setbacks.

Rebuilding rapport

Retraining of anti-gang officers after Rampart also has delayed their effectiveness on the streets.

``The people they took out had a lot of expertise and they had a feeling of who was doing what. Now they're gone and the people new to the division have got to build up their rapport,'' said Detective Greg Demirjian, in charge of the gang unit at the LAPD's West Valley Division.

Like other divisions, Foothill's Capt. Kenneth Garner, who has seen a 50 percent turnover in his anti-gang unit, has assigned most officers to work Thursday through Sunday nights, when the majority of violent crimes occur.

``There's not as many proactive details. We're moving those officers out onto the street. We don't have the luxury of doing as much investigative work,'' Garner said.

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Chart: LAPD rolls continue to shrink

SOURCE: LAPD

Bradford Mar/Staff Artist