LAPD RESPONSE TIME SLOWS WITH VALLEY WORST AT... 11.2 MINUTES FOR A COP!

Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer

The time it takes Los Angeles police to respond to emergency calls has jumped by an average of one minute citywide this year with the San Fernando Valley getting the slowest response at 11.2 minutes, according to a city report issued Monday.

Response times have risen sharply since 2000, with much of the increase coming since Mayor James Hahn successfully pushed for a shortened three-day or four-day workweek for officers.

According to figures in the city administrative officer's new report on the impact of the flexible work schedule, the average response time to emergency calls citywide has shot up about 30 percent - from eight minutes to 10.7 minutes since 2000.

The Valley, which long has had the slowest police responses because fewer officers per 1,000 residents cover a large territory, remains at the bottom, but response in the rest of the city is slipping near that level. The Valley wait has increased from 9.8 minutes to 11.2 minutes since 2001, while it has risen from less than 8.6 minutes to 10.5 minutes in the rest of the city.

The minute-a-year increase in response times has sparked concerns among some city officials and residents.

``A minute does matter. ... That's 10 minutes over 10 years,'' said Polly Ward, a neighborhood council board member in Studio City.

The Los Angeles Police Department has an official goal called ``7/40'' - response within seven minutes to 40 percent of emergency calls. Response times in nearby cities are much lower - less than 3.5 minutes reported in Burbank, Simi Valley and San Fernando.

Hahn dismissed the response-time report, saying crimes rates are the real measure of how the flexible three-day and four-day work schedules are functioning.

According to the LAPD, total reported violent crime is down 3.6 percent through June 28 this year, and arrests are up - about 9.2 percent generally and 90 percent for specialized gang and narcotics units. Homicides are down 23.5 percent, to 247 so far this year from 323 killings in the same period last year.

Deputy Mayor Matt Middlebrook said that when Hahn took office the LAPD had shrunk by 900 sworn officers and morale was low among the others. Implementing the flexible work schedules was a tool to keep officers from leaving and to recruit others.

``So saying that the flexible work schedule has in fact made this a less safe city is preposterous because it is safer city than it was 12 months ago,'' Middlebrook said.

Councilman Nate Holden, a longtime critic of the compressed work schedule for cops, said he knew response time would be affected when the council approved the union-pushed plan.

``I told them from the very beginning. That's why I voted against it,'' said Holden, whose term ended Monday with one final effort to get the Public Safety Committee to endorse his motion to reconsider the compressed work schedule.

But Councilman Jack Weiss, a committee member, remained unconvinced about the link between rising response time and the flexible work schedule.

``We need to have an analysis of why response time has gone up way before anyone jumps to conclusions as to why,'' said Weiss, whose committee requested that the chief administrative officer examine the factors affecting response time.

Councilman Dennis Zine, a retired LAPD officer and police union official, raised another issue: ``To fault the compressed work schedule is not really the issue. The issue is where we're putting the bodies.''

For example, many officers have been redeployed to specialized crime-fighting units, including gang-intervention teams in each division, and away from patrol cars responding to calls. The LAPD's priority has shifted, officials said, from running after criminals to preventing crimes.

``Officers are still out in the street,'' said Cmdr. Bob Hansohn, commanding officer of the department's personnel group. ``They're just doing different things.''

He said it would take an extra 600 officers to reach the 7/40 goal. Hahn was unsuccessful in getting council approval for 320 extra officers because of the tight city budget.

In nearby cities, average response time is about three minutes in Burbank, about two minutes in little San Fernando with its 38-officer force and about 3.5 minutes in Simi Valley.

In Thousand Oaks, which contracts with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department for city police services, response time for emergency calls ranges from 6.65 minutes to 9.97 minutes.

Despite the longer wait, some Valley community leaders praised the LAPD's emergency response.

``I'm not speaking for other communities, but I know in Pacoima we have excellent response from Foothill Division,'' said Richard Gallegos, president of the Pacoima Neighborhood Council.

Mariel Garza, [phone]

Mariel.Garza(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

LAPD RESPONSE TIMES

SOURCE: Los Angeles Police Department