Police unveil new surveillance tactic for gang-addled area
In response to increased gang activity on Santa Monica’s east side, police will patrol the area with helicopters beginning tonight.
“Operation Prime Time” is part of the Santa Monica Police Department’s increased presence in the Pico neighborhood, which runs north of the Santa Monica Freeway to Santa Monica Boulevard, south to Pico Boulevard and east from Lincoln Boulevard to Centinela Boulevard.
The SMPD will borrow a helicopter that belongs to the Hawthorne Police Department. Police officials wouldn’t say when the helicopter will be used or for how long.
“They will be flying over Santa Monica randomly, monitoring and talking to our officers,” said Lt. Frank Fabrega, a police department spokesman. “They will have direct communication with our field officers and our ground units.
“Mainly the helicopter will provide assistance,” he added. “It will do a fly over and spend time in the city if needed. And when it’s done, it will go back to Hawthorne. But it will fly over several times during its shift.”
The use of the helicopter and air support will be evaluated on a weekly basis, based on how successful the operation is.
About a month ago, high ranking police department officials held a meeting to discuss the recent spate of shootings in the Pico neighborhood how police could increase their presence there.
At the time, four shootings had occurred since January, though no fatalities or serious injuries resulted.
Since more officers have been deployed to the neighborhood, there has been only one shooting. Two rival gang members were involved in a shoot-out. They led officers on a high-speed chase through the residential area before evading police.
A Pico neighborhood task force, which works closely with police in curbing gang-related crime, also has been set up.
“It gives officers the ability to stop and talk to residents and they are able to walk their bikes and talk to kids and hear their concerns,” Fabrega said. “On the other side of the coin, it acts as a deterrent.
“People up to criminal activity may be able to see or hear the police cars coming, but they may not see the bicycle officers coming. It gives them the ability to do patrols a little more effectively in a concentrated area.”
Fabrega said the patrols have not only been effective, but have garnered the support of the community.
“Residents are calling police officers more frequently and reporting more crimes,” he said.
The neighborhood has been engulfed in a turf war between two gangs — the Graveyard Crips and the Santa Monica 17th Street gang — for years. The tension between the two groups has flared up in the past several months.
Despite reports that increased graffiti has plagued the Pico neighborhood in recent weeks, Fabrega said there has been a dramatic decline in gang tagging.
40E,“We attribute that not only to the law enforcement aspect but also to community members calling and having it removed immediately,” he said.
But some say graffiti has become a problem in recent weeks.
“I would disagree with (Fabrega) on that one,” said Peter Tigler, president of the Pico Neighborhood Association. “Just on my street there was tags three nights in a row.”
However, Tigler wasn’t complaining about the heightened police presence.
“Almost everybody has noticed the increased patrols,” Tigler said. “There haven’t been any shootings since they beefed up the patrols, which is nice.”
Pico residents have been asking for more police for years, but haven’t gotten it until now, he said.
“I know they are doing it on a week by week basis but we have been asking for it on a more permanent scale,” Tigler said.
As far as patrolling with helicopters, Tigler said he will reserve his judgment until he can determine if it’s effective.
“If they are just going to buzz around and wake everybody up then I’m not sure,” he said.
“If they are just going to buzz around and wake everybody up then I’m not sure.” — — PETER TIGLER Pico Neighborhood Association president
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Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 12, 2002. Read the original PDF.