Senior Lead Officers
Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks’ decision last year to remove senior lead officers from direct contact with the citizens they are sworn to protect has been a sad step backward for community policing.
The accessibility and strong presence of our own senior lead officer, Ed Brentlinger, provided a key crime prevention tool in our community. He knows our neighborhood, its residents and its trouble spots. His newsletter and his appearances at community meetings and events contributed to a well-informed and active population.
Above all, the direct telephone access to Brentlinger allowed our residents to communicate personally with the LAPD and resolve small problems before they became serious ones. We have lost our most important link to the Police Department and we are very distressed.
Parks has stated that community relations should be the responsibility of all officers, but let’s face it: When a job becomes everyone’s responsibility, it really becomes no one’s at all. We urge the chief to reinstate the senior lead officers to the people who need them.
STUART SIMEN
Board Member
Valley Village Homeowners Assn.
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