LONDON OFFERS LESSON FOR LAPD FIRSTHAND BOMBING EXPERIENCE EXPOSES OFFICERS TO NEW ANTI-TERROR METHODS.

Byline: Dan Laidman Staff Writer

After the London bombings earlier this month, Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton and his top counterterrorism official called Ian Blair.

They asked Blair - the British capital's top cop and a friend of the Los Angeles chief - if they could send a team to London to observe the investigation when things calmed down.

The time is now, Blair replied, and two weeks later a group of LAPD officials was inside the London police Bomb Data Analysis Center when a second round of explosives went off.

The attack ``became an accidental drill for us,'' John Miller, head of the LAPD's counterterrorism unit said Friday at a press conference discussing what LAPD officials learned during the trip and how it may change Los Angeles officials' preparation for terrorist threats.

The trip has inspired one major new initiative: Bratton and police chiefs across the country are developing a network for local law enforcement to share information when incidents happen so they are not as dependent on federal authorities.

Deputy Chief Michael Berkow described how - in the wake of the bombings during their London trip - he and colleagues phoned Bratton to relay the latest information while Bratton was at a conference in Chicago with other police chiefs.

``We were feeding back information very quickly - raw, unfiltered, undigested information,'' Berkow said. ``They were able to make decisions in those cities very quickly.''

The LAPD team also said it witnessed procedures that could affect how the department responds if Los Angeles is targeted.

Local police are particularly interested in how London officers made themselves highly visible throughout the city immediately after the attack, Berkow said, and also how they coped with fatigue as officers worked overtime for weeks.

The LAPD plans to adopt some technology used in London - from a specialized trolley to access subway tunnels to widespread cameras at transit centers.

Los Angeles commuters should also expect to see more bomb-sniffing dogs at bus, subway and train stations in the near future, Miller said.

The department plans to add trained canines because it considers them a better option than the type of random passenger searches police recently instituted in New York.

The dogs are effective and cover a wide range, Miller said, and using them will help the department avoid concerns about passenger privacy or racial profiling.

Dan Laidman, [phone]

dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com