Gardena Police Department - District Policing

In a strategy to better attack the city's crime and blight, the Gardena Police Department has divided the city into thirds, with dividing lines along Rosecrans Avenue and Redondo Beach Boulevard.

The goal of the new policing strategy is to implement a direct system of accountability in the agency, and to give better service to the community. A small policing staff is now responsible for each area rather than the entire city.

"Officers will get to know their area and can respond to specific problems," Gardena police Chief Ed Medrano said. "They'll be working the problem every day, and it's in their best interest to solve the problem."

Each area has its own set of problems, Medrano said.

North of Rosecrans Avenue is a primarily commercial and industrial area, and is fairly quiet at night, but faces gang-related crimes and burglaries, Medrano said.

South of Redondo Beach Boulevard, policing issues center around the schools and shopping centers there - shoplifting, loitering and car thefts.

Central Gardena struggles with high housing density. Police respond to family disputes, landlord-tenant disputes, loitering, gangs, burglary and car thefts there, Medrano said.

The police department receives about 4,000calls for service each month, he said.

Though they are already busy, officers and management staff at the department will have new responsibilities.

They are required to work more closely with the city departments responsible for quality-of-life improvements like housing code violations, landscaping and street repairs.

"Society needs us to protect them from crimes like homicides and robberies," Gardena Lt. Mike Saffell said. "But society also doesn't want that transient-guy asking them for money when they're making a left-hand turn, or they complain to us about their neighbors' overgrown weeds. Those aren't all police department issues and traditionally aren't our duty."

Now, if Gardena police officers, sergeants or lieutenants get those types of complaints, it will be their job to make sure the right city officials respond, Saffell said.

And, if they don't respond, there is a clear structure of accountability in each district, and the officer, sergeant or lieutenant will be on the hook.

"If it's on your plate, you've got to finish it," Medrano said. "It's a tough position to be in, but they're up to it."

It's more work for an already-stressed department, but the city's allocation of new police officers, school-resource officers, police vehicles and other resources should make it possible, Medrano said.

District policing is a modern form of community-based law enforcement that many local agencies have already instituted.

For Gardena, the program comes at the tail end of a series of modernizations spearheaded by Medrano, who took office in April.

Residents can now file police reports on the Gardena Police Department's Web site.

Also, department management reviews real-time crime reports weekly, and now has access to a new, high-tech computer system that logs crime reports and maps.

Now, district policing will require the department to work more closely with city agencies, schools and each other to improve the look of the community as well as crime, Medrano said.

"Before, we'd go in to a street and clean it up from idiots hanging out and causing problems," Medrano said. "But when we leave, they might still have torn-up streets and no trees.… The city's committed money to this because if we make this community better and safer, more people will move here."