C-PAB Bureau presentations

Here are brief descriptions of the four presentations made at the C-PAB Summit, one from each of the LAPD Bureaus:

Presentation by South Bureau
"Southeast Neighborhood Police Academy"

The South Bureau Community Police Academy has been an effective tool in strengthening police-community relationships. One night a week for ten weeks, members of this class are provided with information on the inner workings of the LAPD.

The concept of a Community Police Academy is not new and has been presented on a Bureau level for a number of years.

The intent of the course is to create a relaxed, enjoyable, informative and interactive forum, which will provide individual neighborhood residents with a better understanding of the who, what, when, where, why and how's of LAPD.

What Southeast Division seeks to achieve is an Academy that is flexible enough to be presented in individual neighborhoods, and by the same Officers that patrol that area.

Current Community Police Academy classes use experts from throughout the Department, but by using Officers assigned to Southeast Division, residents from troubled areas will become more familiar and comfortable interacting with their Officers.

Presentation by Central Bureau
"2002 Youth Project"

Central Bureau initiated a strategy in 2002 to reduce the violence in its communities, in particular tragedies that are connected to gang violence.

The primary goal is to reduce incidents of violence so that members of the communities in Los Angeles can live and raise their families without the fear of crime.

Another goal of this effort is to decrease the number of youths that are ending up on the punitive side of the criminal justice system and becoming wards of the courts.

The long term goal is to reduce the number of youthful offenders who become adult criminals and enter the adult penal system, consequently becoming an economic and social burden to society.

Under this program law enforcement does not have to wait until a minor commits a serious act before corrective action can be taken.

According to statistics from the presiding juvenile courts, 97% of the youthful offenders involved in the program admit to their actions and violations on their initial court appearance.

Presentation by West Bureau
"Community Law Enforcement and Recovery (CLEAR) program"

The primary purpose of the CLEAR program, funded by the federal and state governments, is to facilitate the recovery of gang-infesrted communities.

This is accomplished by decreasing the criminal activity of targeted gangs in designated communities through an effective collaboration among several City and County criminal justice agencies, and by forming partnerships between them.

Currently Northeast, Foothill, Pacific, Devonshire and Newton Divisions have CLEAR programs, as does the LA Sheriff's Department's Century Station.

CLEAR's policy, management, operations and community engagement functions are distributed among three organizational components: a program-wide Executive Committee, and, for each CLEAR site, an Operations Team and at least one Community Impact Team.

Each site also engages, as needed, with other affiliated law enforcement and community agencies.

Presentation by Valley Bureau
"A How To Guide on Hosting a Bureau Summit"

Valley Bureau offered an excellent and very practical step-by-step guide on how to plan and hold an annual C-PAB Summit on the Bureau level.

Included in the kit was a time line, describing what should be happening three months, two months, one month, two weeks and one week prior to the event.

All the committees needed for planning and hosting the Summit were listed, as were specific task lists, and sample letters and forms to be used for planning the event.

The suggested Bureau C-PAB Summit agenda includes significant time for give and take, and indicates a half day event, with registration beginning at 7:30 am and final remarks ending at 12:30 pm.

The sample letters from the hosting Division Captain to the C-PABs and community members states the hope is that "this will be an effective, regional conference to discuss and network together regarding topics and concerns of common interest."

And it goes on, "We hope that the efforts [of those planning the event] will enhance the concept of community policing and maintain the quality of life in our neighborhoods.