West Los Angeles Community Police Advisory Board
A Partnership Between the Community and the LAPD

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C-PAB TRAFFIC COMMITTEE MINUTES

HIGHLIGHTS
( New Business, Guest Speakers Only )

To request a full version of the
Traffic Committee Minutes
send an email to:
wlatraffic@earthlink.net

September 9, 2003
8:15am - 10:00am

West L.A. Police Station
Roll Call Room

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8:32 a.m. Meeting called to order by the Chair Robert A. Ringler. Robert thanks everyone for coming.

Introduction of Guests

Attendees:

Introduction of Guests and Attendees

Robert introduced the Commanding Officer of the West LA Community Police Station.

Approval of Minutes

Robert Ringler asked for any corrections or additions to the August 12, 2003 minutes. Samantha Greenberg stated on page nine, paragraph two, "another member" refers to herself. Edith Lehrer added that on page fourteen, "the school" should be replaced with the roll call room because she does not deal with schools. A motion was made to approve the minutes as amended. Bill Savage seconds the motion. The minutes are approved as amended.

New Business

Introduction of Guest Speaker-Deputy Chief Mike Hillmann:

Robert Introduced Deputy Chief Michael Hillmann.

Michael wanted to thank everyone for giving him the opportunity to speak. It is nice for him to be back here with the community. This Station is a great piece of memory from his life to be able to come back and work with everyone.

The Department has reorganized and spent a great deal of time in putting the right components of the Department together and effectively organize them.

He wanted to cover three things:

First of all, he would like to discuss what the Special Operations Bureau is all about and where it fits into the grander scheme of things. Next, he wanted to discuss his responsibilities as a Traffic Coordinator for the Department. And finish by discussing what they're doing and where they're going in regards to gang strategies.

The West Side is blessed because they are not exposed to many of the gang problems the rest of the City of Los Angeles is; however, there is potential for gang activity to migrate to the area. He wanted to express the magnitude of the gang problem. He provided everyone with a hand-out and wants to give everyone an overview of how it is organized. There are three components, two of which are of primary concern under the Chief of Operations, Assistant Chief McDonald. Deputy Chief Hillman deals with the Special Operations Bureau, which reports directly to Assistant Chief McDonald. The Counter-Terrorism Bureau is commanded by Mr. John Miller who directly reports to the Chief of Police. He deals with the operational components while Mr. Miller deals with the intelligence components to deal with domestic and international preparedness. For example, in Downtown L.A. today, they are evacuating a building today to see how long it would take to effectively evacuate the building with the cooperation of the Police and Fire Department. They are making steps to support the community and keep everyone safe.

Deputy Chief Hillman explained the organizational chart he handed out.He is the Deputy Chief in the Special Operations Bureau. All the Bureau Commanding Officers are Deputy Chief rank. There is a vacancy as an Assisting Commanding Officer. There are three components: Air Support Division, Special Operations Support Division, and Metropolitan Division. The Special Operations Support Division is what is significant to this Committee because it deals with traffic issues. The Traffic Coordination Section and the Gang Support Section are the head quarter components for dealing with traffic and gangs. Captain Williams, the Commanding Officer of the West Traffic Division is responsible for dealing with all the law enforcement related West Traffic Area responsibilities. They have the function of coordinating the Administrative Unit, Photo Red Light Coordinator, Specialized Enforcement Unit, Traffic Support Unit, Traffic Court Liaison Unit, Drug Recognition Expert Unit, and a Patrol Support Unit. They have to do all that is necessary to get their Police Officers to appear in Traffic Court. All the various functions the Traffic Coordination Section does are listed in the handout.

He next continues on to his Power Point presentation of an Overview of LAPD Gang Related Strategies.

The scope of this problem in the City are very, very serious. He's been in the position of being the Commanding Officer in the Special Operations Bureau since December and he had no idea of the scope and magnitude of this problem. He responds to about 98%, working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no days off and no vacation time, to all the gang-related homicides throughout the City. It has been one of the most eye-opening experiences he's had in his thirty-seven years of Law Enforcement with this Organization.

There are 400+ identified gangs with 50,000 identified members. We are the Gang Capital of the United States and that's not a good thing. Various ethnicities and cultures are involved. 47% of the gang members he has to deal with are Hispanic. Looking at the year-to-date statistics, there have been 334 homicides since August 30, 2003. 60% of these 334 homicides are gang-related, 85% are gunshot wounds, and 39% occurred between midnight Friday to Sunday. 140 homicide suspects have been identified or arrested and 53% of them are gang-related. Therefore, the majority of the homicides occurring in the City are gang-related.

The majority of the efforts they are putting forth within the City of Los Angeles are focused on supporting the Gang Impact Team concept. There 18 of these individual components throughout the City, one for each of the geographical areas; West L.A. has a Gang Impact Team and Brian Pratt is the Lieutenant of this team. He also shows the trends of the migration of these gangs. They are currently collaboratively working with Denver, Chicago, New York, and Boston Police Departments.

Gangs are a national plague. California-base gangs have networks that move to various other states throughout the United States. Gangs are a culture. They are not only a Law Enforcement problem, they are a Community problem, a culture problem, and it is a problem that is not just going to go away tomorrow. It is a community-based problem, it is a family value problem. We need to establish a cultural and a mindset for the various family organizations. We need to provide intervention and prevention programs that deals with at-risk youths and adolescents. We are looking at this on a County-wide basis.

In January, 2003, they came up with the Gang Impact Team, a concept that will coordinate Narcotics Officers into the various areas, coordinate Detective functions that will essentially make a very robust gang enforcement detail that will comply with the LAPD Federal Consent Decree. They restructured the previous Gang Enforcement organizations and created the Gang Impact Team. 18 of these currently exist. Thanks to the City Council, they now have senior and tenured Lieutenant positions that are the Gang Impact Team coordinators. There are many agencies working collaboratively working with the Gang Impact Team, including: the FBI, LA County Probation, DEA, ATF, CLEAR Executive Committee, LA IMPACT, etc. They are trying to develop informants in the area that will put together informant packages that will meet the test of the Consent Decree so they can go after these gangsters in a proactive approach. They deal with informants, search warrants, and extraordinary means which include dealing with laws that allows them to eavesdrop on these organized gangs with either state wire taps or federal wire taps so they can go after the leaders of these organizations. They are increasing the number of injunctions they have with various gangsters. Although any homicide is bad news, because of the focused effort with LAPD and LAUSD, LA County Sheriff, ATF, and all the other organizations, the good news is that homicides has been reduced to 23.4% compared to the previous year, violent crimes have gone down and arrests have increased. He shows the organization of the Gang Impact Team and the Committee's Prevention and Intervention activities. Gangs are not just LAPD's problem, they're EVERYONE's problem. The Gang Impact Team also has a Community Impact Advisory Team that involves volunteers from members of the community that will help to develop some of the gang strategies that law enforcement is using, to help develop the intervention/prevention type of models to support the jeopardy on a larger basis, and to work collaboratively with LA County Sheriff Department. This is the focus of where his Organization is at.

Deputy Chief Mike Hillman opened up for questions from the Committee.

A Committee member asked where the 18th Street Gang location was?

Deputy Chief Hillman clarified that the 18th Street location is primarily Rampart and Wilshire. It is also in Denver, Colorado, New York, Boston, Palmdale, etc. It is no longer just territory. 18th Street used to be just on 18th Street by Rampart.

Walt Lykosh asked how are convictions and sentencing, since arrests are up?

Deputy Chief Hillman responded that it is too soon to tell because they have to work with the District Attorney, ATF, LA City Attorney, and other Departments to make sure the cases are filed. They are making success in the progress.

Steve Twining asked if they had more officers, would they be able to solve the problem?

Deputy Chief Hillman responded that there are two parts to that answer. Interestingly enough, New York does not have the same type of gang problems that we have. On the street, it is not uncommon for officers to get shot at all the time, but this is not the case in New York, according to those who work in New York. The good side of this is that it shows what they are doing is working. They are putting pressure on and tightening the screws. The down side is that there is risk and jeopardy to the officers. Once the officers are shot at, we actively go after the individuals that shot at the officers because it is a direct attack on authority and an attack on the every day laws and rules of society. New York does not have the same problem.

Samantha Greenberg asked what they can do to help?

Deputy Chief Hillman responded that the Chief would not dismiss anyone that is willing to help. He is committed to the entire City to decrease violent crime. The Community Impact Advisory Team needs to consist of selected members that are willing to donate their time and effort to coordinate on a city-wide and county-wide basis, intervention and prevention strategies that will reach out to Corporate America and get them to start developing various plans for employment types of opportunities. They can create career paths for at-risk youths and individuals and prevent them from turning into a potential gangster.

Stacy Antler expresses her concern with the governor signing SB60. This will allow people with a criminal history to create an identity. Purchasing a gun requires a driver's license and therefore, such individuals may be able to purchase a gun with a false identity. Stacy asked for Deputy Chief Hillman's opinion.

He replied that this is a very valid concern. They have met with the Senior Supervisor Agent in ATF, in the LA Office. They are working together to make sure there are no holes in the gun purchasing process and that people cannot just provide a driver's license, wait ten days and purchase a gun for $450.

Stan Arcader was curious why wasn't INS included in the list of Bureaus that the Special Operations Bureau?

Deputy Chief Hillman responded that it is a very sensitive issue. LAPD is prevented from making an arrest or using reasonable cause/suspicion to establish a foundation for an officer to detain someone because of status. When it comes to making an arrest, we are not to focus solely on the status of an individual. This is the policy. This is exactly how they have to operate. They do not profile. There is a major concern on the department about individuals that may be responsible for crime that may perhaps be undocumented aliens; however, this is not the sole focus. The FBI, DEA and ATF task forces are liasoning with Immigration and Naturalization Services. This is not something the Special Operations Bureau focuses solely on. Stan also asked if they made an arrest, would they be in the position to check on that individual's status. Deputy Chief Hillman responded that they are not in that position. That would be a follow-up done by the Federal Agency or U.S. Attorney. An individual's citizenship status will not be checked based upon an arrest. Captain Chambers added that there are situations when a person that is arrested may be run if there is a warrant through the Federal Government for them. The person will be flagged when they run that person after they make an arrest. The LAPD is not completely separate from the INS. There are rules and regulations dealing with immigration status, but there is a relationship between them and the INS. Deputy Chief Hillman agrees and adds that the enforcement efforts are focused on the fact that there is a warrant and that they are enforcing a criminal statute.

Susan Lerner commented that this is a very exciting proposal that the Department is trying to put together in terms of an overall strategy. She wanted to emphasize the fact that although they haven't had the chance to turn to it, he is talking about the necessary community component in terms of jobs and cultural support. She wanted to re-emphasize that West LA would be excited to help the Department with resources that they have personally and professional connections to try to make this an effective city-wide effort.

Deputy Chief Hillman responded that this would be very helpful and he appreciates it.

Deputy Chief Hillman closed his presentation with his vision of a perfect world. He is convinced that there are many adolescents that are looking for opportunities to get out and get into a particular line of work and establish themselves. He would like to see a large corporation step out and develop a career path that would include mentoring, follow-up, it would be a collaborative effort between Corporate America and LA County Probation, Law Enforcement and community based groups like a Community Impact Advisory Team. They would provide individuals with the opportunity to move forward, get an education, and develop their skills. This is what he is trying to achieve.

Robert thanks Deputy Chief Hillman for joining us and addressing such an important topic.

Community Traffic Reports

Benedict Canyon-Joshua Berman informed the Committee that one of the biggest issues in his area is enforcement. They really need more traffic enforcement on their streets because it is being used as commuter streets. One of the traffic measures they are taking is getting driplines, then edgelines that extend from the Beverly Hills boundary all the way to Hutton. This project will begin at the end of September and will involve closures from Hutton up to Mulholland on Benedict Canyon.

Beverly Glen-Susan Lerner is responsible for Community Relations in the Beverly Glen Association and Robert introduced Karl Medina who is the new President of the Association. Susan reported to the Committee that they have a specific problem on Beverly Glen, which is a major commuter route. There is a residential construction on one of the side streets and they are having a significant problem, including recently an injury accident relating to the construction trucks that are illegally parking on Beverly Glen and interfering with the flow of traffic. Neighbors who witnessed the accident reported that it was in part caused by the flag men not being skilled at their task. They have a persistent problem with the concrete/cement trucks and tractor trailers that are trying to deliver building materials up a small side street, backing up and parking illegally facing in the wrong direction in red zones during the day. It does not seem to be a rush hour problem, but it is a safety problem during the middle of the day. They are here to ask for help and advice to improve the traffic situation and ways to protect the safety of the residents and the tens of thousands of commuters that travel on Beverly Glen. Robert asked her to speak with Fortuna Ippoliti after the meeting. Fortuna has not heard anything about this issue. She responded that this is not a difficult issue. If Susan calls her office, Fortuna can get Street Use, LAPD, as many agencies as necessary out there to take care of this issue. Robert asked Susan to follow-up on this issue and call Fortuna at her office.

Bienveneda Avenue/Pacific Palisades-Patti Post reported to the Committee that they have had a continuing series of issues relating mainly with speed. Three to four years ago, a suggestion was made to redesignate the street from a collector street to a local street. The City Bureaucracy did not know how to do it and they had a lot of false starts. The Council Office now understands the process and is moving along slowly. A proposal will be made to City Council and a motion will be made to redesignate the street on the Federal map to make it consistent with the City map, allow the speed limit to be reduced to 25mph, and also empower LAPD to use Radar on their streets without a speed survey. She will let the Committee know when she has more information.

Castle Heights Neighborhood Association-Rich Levier not present.

Holmby Hills-Marcia Selz called prior to the meeting and informed Robert that she will be out of town.

Mountaingate-Ernie Frankel reported to the Committee that the Police presence on Sepulveda Boulevard has been extremely successful and should be repeated next month. Drivers that were previously driving 75mph are now driving 50mph. There has not been another accident there and there are usually 2-3 accidents per week. They need help on Mountaingate Drive and are still having accidents there. There are gates that restrict entry to the Community. At their gate, if they do not show valid insurance, they cannot gain entry. They also check 30 days later if the driver has obtained insurance. They have found this an effective way to deal with the issue of those driving with no insurance.

Roscomare-Steve Twining reported to the Committee that the Decoy Car has been very effective in his area. He wanted to give Mo a round of applause for the reduction of the speed limit on Roscomare.

Santa Monica Canyon/BOCA-Leslie Hope reported to the Committee that there was a late night accident on Entrada involving young drivers. Someone was trying to make a u-turn and another car came along and a collision occurred. She would appreciate enforcement in the evening because there is a lot of speeding, usually around 7-8pm and especially when the restaurants close. Captain Williams responded that there are officers out there and they try to go out there as often as they can.

Westwood Hills-Debbie Nussbaum wanted to mention a couple of issues. Recently Montana Boulevard was resurfaced and as a result the street is nice and smooth and drivers are traveling faster on it. The neighbors are concerned about the speed driven on Montana. They also had a couple of construction sites on the street and the number of trucks that are frequenting these sites are blocking traffic on Sepulveda. The two lane flow is sometimes reduced to one lane. It is extremely dangerous for those at the intersection of Cashmere and Sepulveda. The signage at Cashmere and Sepulveda is also a concern. She was wondering if they can get more signs in the area and if they can get someone to repaint the Keep Clear signs on the pavement. It is a real danger to the residents in the area trying to exit in the late afternoon, anywhere from 3:30 to 6:30pm. In regards to the construction site, trucks block the streets.

Wilshire Corridor-Marilyn Lewis not present.

Harvard Westlake-John Amato thanked the Committee for inviting him to speak at this meeting. He is also a council member of the Bel-Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council and would like to bring his students to these meetings to see how the City and the Community work together. They are in a small neighborhood, Holmby Hills and have a number of cars that come in on a daily basis. Over 60% of the students come in by bus and many students carpool to school. He would like to get a sense of how they can get some type of surveillance and enforcement in the area. They are currently using a jugs gun that is used to track the speed of baseballs and softballs on parents. They will get the speed of a vehicle and contact the school's office and describe the vehicle. They are trying to calm parents down. He would love Police presence in the area and help from the Community and Police to support them. Fortuna Ippoliti informed the Committee that some principals/head masters have been sending letters to the parents and when that fails, they put the license plate numbers in the newsletters and this has been very effective.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The folowing items were also discussed:

Neighborhood Council/Community Council Reports

Department of Transportation Report

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Report

CALTRANS

Police Department Report

Deputy Mayor's Office Report

Council District 5 Report

Council District 11 Report

SB 335 Elderly Driving Bill

General Discussion

Announcement of Next Meeting

Meeting Adjourned

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NOTE:

To request a full version of the
Traffic Committee Minutes
send an email to:

wlatraffic@earthlink.net

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