By Melody Hanatani
Daily Press Staff Writer

VENICE BEACH The second largest tourist destination in Southern California will soon be getting extra police officers as part of a public safety measure announced by the Los Angeles Police Department after a homicide off the boardwalk last week involving a homeless man.

The LAPD and Councilmember Bill Rosendahl said the public safety plan will increase the number of officers deployed to Venice Beach, upping the presence during weekends and adjusting the shifts of officers assigned to the area so that enforcement extends well into the evening.

“As a major tourist attraction, as a recreational center, and as a residential area, Venice Beach is a unique neighborhood with its own set of challenges,” Rosendahl said.

While the LAPD typically deploys extra officers during the summer because of the added number of people that visit the beach and boardwalk, the department decided to be proactive and start early this year, partly due to a homicide earlier this month of a homeless man who was found beaten to death, according to Sgt. Stephen Showler, who oversees the Pacific Community Police Station in Venice.

“We expect a busy summer and we’ll take steps to be sure it’s a safe summer,” Showler said.

The pieces of the enforcement plan will be put into place this week as the department begins assigning more officers to patrol the beach after dark and overnight. The department also plans to enforce a “zero tolerance” policy toward infractions and misdemeanor offenses, according to LAPD officials. There are currently nine officers assigned to the Venice Beach area and those numbers should noticeably increase after March 29.

“We will be working very closely with the council office and the community in a cooperative effort to identify and solve problems,” Capt. Joseph Hiltner said last week. “We are firmly committed to community-policing.”

Showler said the increased enforcement should last through the end of September, at which point the department will evaluate its staffing allocation.

The LAPD also plans to use special overtime details for specific target problems in the neighborhood and work with social service agencies to help homeless people who sleep on the beach into shelter programs.

Venice residents say they hope to see the extra officer stick around permanently.

“The presence gets higher during the summer and those officers go back to other areas during the rest of the year,” Mike Newhouse, the president of the Venice Neighborhood Council, said on Monday. “We’ve been interested in more police presence year around, especially leading up to the summer season, like right now.”

While Venice Beach isn’t a violent, crime-ridden area, Newhouse said he has noticed illegal activity has substantially dropped during the 12 years he has lived in the West LA neighborhood.

“I find Venice to be overall a safe community,” Newhouse said. “But having said that, it’s a very popular tourist destination and whenever there is a popular tourist destination, you will see a certain amount of property crime.”

melodyh@smdp.com