POLICE PANEL REVIEWS CRIME-FIGHTING PLAN.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

The Los Angeles Police Commission got an overview Tuesday of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to improve public safety by hiring more police to deal with gang violence and other issues.

Deputy Mayor Maurice Suh, who advises Villaraigosa on homeland security and public safety, said the mayor has shown his commitment to reduce crime with his initiative to hire 1,000 more officers over the next four years.

``There are lots of things we want to accomplish, but more than anything, we want to approach this as flexibly as we can,'' Suh said. ``We don't want to delude ourselves that we can do everything, but we are pushing forward as much as we can in all areas.''

One of the top priorities continues to be working to control gang violence by trying to reduce the number of gang members.

`` ... Unless we address this problem now, we will be talking about an expensive problem of gangs and the social ills that come with them for many, many years to come,'' Suh said.

One of the strategies being used is to flood a gang-infested area with police to crack down on violators, and also develop programs aimed at keeping kids from gangs by providing after-school and job programs and other alternatives, Suh said.

Also Tuesday, Suh said the mayor was providing money in the budget for a new facility at the Port of Los Angeles to increase the amount of screening of goods shipped into the country.

And, through an initiative started by Councilman Jack Weiss, the head of security of Israel's Ben Gurion Airport will examine operations at Los Angeles International Airport to make recommendations on how security can be improved.

The mayor also wants to see an expansion of the city's Department of Emergency Response so the city is better prepared for a terrorist attack and natural disasters, Suh said.

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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