Burns Park command post
L.A.P.D. Wilshire Division officers plan to continue to bring their mobile command post vehicle to areas throughout the community following the success of a recent visit to Robert Burns Park at the corner of Van Ness Ave. and Beverly Blvd.
Residents who stopped by the community substation discussed issues including crime and neighborhood watch programs with Olympic senior lead officer Joe Pelayo and Sgt. Hope Young.
“We’d like to thank Olympic’s commanding officer Capt. Nieto for allocating resources this way today,” said Karen Gilman, secretary of the Larchmont Village Neighborhood Assoc. “What a great turnout of neighbors, block watch organizers and regular folks all day long.”
The moveable post, which is equipped with state of the art technology, lets residents meet police officers in person to discuss issues in their neighborhoods.
The concept, said Pelayo, “is that if we do community outreach, it allows the residents to be part of the solution to address the problem.”
Pelayo said he couldn’t do his job without the help of community members. He pointed to the recent arrest of two suspects after a resident reported hearing a burglar alarm and seeing two men jump over a fence as an example.
“We can’t move police stations around,” added Lt. Eric Quan, assistant commander of detectives, “But we can put the command substations out there.”
The recent rise in burglaries is concerning for residents,” Quan added. “Bringing the command centers to the community is a very tangible way to let people know that we’re there and we care.”
Category: News