Although it's not finalized, the Pacific Palisades Parks Advisory Board learned Wednesday night that a city plan to eliminate the Office of Public Safety (OPS) may result in more (LAPD) officers patrolling the local parks.
The board sought an update on park security, the current roles of various agencies and emergency response times at its quarterly meeting.
OPS is charged with handling calls from residents when problems occur in the parks. But the city's budgetary problems are forcing changes in park security.
"It's in limbo right now," said Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore of the West LAPD Division. "Right now your best bet is to call LAPD and have them respond to any problems at the park."
Secretary Jennifer Malaret said the concern about park security stems from an incident at about a month ago when there was a report that authorities didn't respond quickly to a transient who may have been in danger.
Moore said the dispatchers, who operate within LAPD, can forward any calls about security problems in the parks to police officers.
"It’s my understanding that we’re taking over at this point," Moore added. "It's not in writing yet, but I've heard that all the [Department] of General Services people are being taken offline."
OPS had been a branch of the Department of General Services.
Board Chairman Mike Skinner asked if the same number of public safety personnel would be patrolling Pacific Palisades.
"Some will be absorbed into LAPD," Moore said. "Some are being assigned to security details to different facilities in the city with posted security guards."
Moore said police expect to see an increase in officers patrolling West L.A. and Pacific Palisades. Currently, he said two officers work two separate 12-hour shifts covering the local area, with a gap in transition. However, mid-watch cars not necessarily assigned exclusively to Palisades pick up the slack during watch changes.
Moore told Skinner there are five LAPD officers who patrol Palisades per day, including himself, primarily in the 90272 zip code area. Others patrol east of Allenford Avenue, the upper Riviera community and Santa Monica Canyon. Sometimes the Brentwood patrol car is part of the mid-watch shift, he noted.
Signs ordered for off-leash dogs
Senior Recreation Director Erich Haas ordered 20 signs for the local parks, reminding dog walkers to keep their canines on leashes. He said OPS has come out recently and ticketed people, although he was unsure of the total number who were tagged.
LAPD will never be the large department they need to be- a 12,000 + officer force yet they pushed for , and got an unneeded and LESS cost /service effective gutting of a seperate POLICE FORCE( not "security unit") just so they- LAPD- could say that they are the only "game in town". Now the tawny palisades residents will truly get to see what residents of South L.A. The Valley, and the Harbor area also see- just how undermanned, LAPD truly is. For a mere $2 million dollars a year savings( in a City where LAPD liability law suits cost 5X as much yearly) LAPD will STRIP the city of nearly 70 plus OPS officers of their SWORN police status, and only transfer up to 30 OPS officers to the LAPD ranks. You'll see this same "service absorption" in the up coming months with the Port of Los Angeles Police, The LAX Airport Police, and the L.A. Unified School District Police- all forces that specialize in protecting the cities' valued assets. LAPD will then drag along with the same fluctuating 9,800 + officers,the Police Protective League will demand PREMIUM cash compensation( all aimed at forcing higher than negotiated salaries for its members)to deploy LAPD staff to fill in the for the lack of police services, and nearly 800,000 more constituents will receive LESS police protection.