L.A. Officials Observe N.Y. Tactics on Crime

Los Angeles city and police officials who attended a two-day seminar this week on New York City’s crime-fighting efforts said Thursday that they were impressed with the law enforcement tactics being employed in the Big Apple.

“It’s incredible,” said LAPD Deputy Chief David Gascon. “I’m stunned by what they’ve done. We walked around Manhattan and there were no homeless, no panhandlers and no prostitutes. The place was very clean.”

The New York Police Department has achieved marked success in fighting and reducing crime in the city, in part because the department uses up-to-the-minute computerized crime statistics to identify problem areas and then strictly holds its command staff accountable for cleaning it up.

The New York approach is embraced by Mayor Richard Riordan, who sent two of his staff members to join LAPD officers at the conference. The mayor has said he believes the LAPD should adopt some of New York’s methods.

Mayoral aide Joe Gunn, a former LAPD officer, said the presentation by the NYPD was “fantastic.” He said the city and police officials who attended the conference plan to get together soon to discuss the possibility of implementing some of New York’s law enforcement tactics in Los Angeles.

New York, however, has significantly more police and better crime tracking technology than Los Angeles, making it more difficult for Los Angeles to completely mirror New York’s effort.