NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH : Worthy Cause

Understandably, serial child molesters provoke the utmost in fear, outrage and concern. However, once a suspect is caught or the attacks cease, we tend to return to a misplaced optimism about the safety of our children. The fact is that molesters prey on children in Los Angeles County with alarming frequency and constant vigilance is demanded.

Late last month, a 16-year-old boy was arrested in a sexual assault against a 5-year-old girl at a South-Central elementary school. And in the San Fernando Valley, police are trying to determine whether a man who tried to lure two Sun Valley schoolgirls into his automobile on Monday was the same person responsible for five similar incidents over the last two months.

Solutions have ranged from the obvious (children should travel in groups or be walked or driven to school by parents) to the absurd (self-defense courses for small children).

One of the best ideas hasn’t gotten off the ground: having trusted adults provide clearly identified “safe houses” that would harbor youngsters if they were threatened or attacked. The Los Angeles Police Department is right when it says that such adults should voluntarily submit to and undergo a full federal criminal records check. What stands in the way is money. U.S. Justice Department records checks cost $32 each; the LAPD doesn’t have the necessary funding, and neither do the schools.

But what about those local elected officials who are rejecting or donating pay raises? That could finance quite a few criminal records checks and get this worthy program rolling. Any takers?