Residents will have a new role in helping the Wilshire Division fight crime with the newly formed Community Police Advisory Board (CPAB) comprised of neighborhood council and business representatives.

Capt. Rolando Solano, the incoming commanding officer at the Wilshire Division, said the new Community Police Advisory Board (CPAB) will be an important component of community outreach. He is pictured with Capt. Patricia A. Sandoval, commanding officer of the Wilshire Patrol Division, and Julie Stromberg, a member of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council and a member of the new Wilshire Division CPAB. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The new board is scheduled to meet for the first time on March 17. The CPAB will have eight members representing the six neighborhood councils in the LAPD’s Wilshire Division, as well as the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce and the Melrose Business Improvement District. Commanding officer Capt. Howard Leslie said the CPAB will focus on crime issues in individual neighborhoods and members will serve as liaisons between the police department and residents.

“Statistically, I can tell you where the crime is, but statistics don’t always tell me about neighborhood problems. Sometimes there are issues residents know about that haven’t been brought to our attention,” Leslie said. “Their biggest concern might be traffic problems, which aren’t a major crime issue but affect the lives of people in the neighborhood. I think it’s a great way to find out what is affecting neighborhoods and what people see as a problem.”

A previous CPAB dating back to the 1990s was dissolved. Leslie said the former CPAB no longer represented the individual communities in the Wilshire Division and was comprised of a patchwork of people who attended meetings sporadically.

“Before, I didn’t have representation who had the ability to go back to their neighborhoods and spread the information,” Leslie said. “People would just show up and it wasn’t as effective as I would have liked.”

Julie Stromberg, a board member for the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, will serve on the new Wilshire Division CPAB. She said it is an “exciting” opportunity that will enable the neighborhood council to become more involved in public safety. Leslie reached out to Stromberg because of her community involvement on the neighborhood council and as a member of the Ebell of Los Angeles.

“I have been interested in becoming more involved with the police department. The department has been working really hard with outreach and trying to disseminate information on criminal activity and events,” Stromberg said. “I would like to help them with their outreach and create a better symbiotic relationship between the community and the police department.”

Leslie asked the new CPAB members to discuss crime issues with others in their neighborhoods and present them at the first meeting. Stromberg said she plans to bring up auto burglaries.

“I have heard about a lot of them from my neighbors,” said Stromberg, who lives in Windsor Village. “Unfortunately, some are not reported.”

Stephen Kramer, president the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce, will represent the local business community on the new CPAB. He said the new board will increase community involvement with the LAPD.

“I think it’s important for us to have a better understanding of what’s going on in the community. We have had a wonderful relationship with the Wilshire Division and I hope to continue that,” Kramer said. “From a business standpoint, I think the most pressing thing is dealing with the homeless. I’m not expecting them to come up with a grand solution, but we need to know what to do if we see somebody on the street who is clearly in need of medical attention and needs help. I want the community to know what our best response should be.”

The other members of the new CPAB will be Ashley Rosen, representing the Mid City West Community Council; Brad Kane, of the Pico Neighborhood Council; Valaida Gory, of the Mid City Neighborhood Council; Denise Jackson, representing the United Neighborhood Council; Gerry Pass, of the Olympic Neighborhood Council; and Donald Duckworth, of the Melrose Business Improvement District.

Leslie said CPAB meetings will not be open to the public because he wants to work directly with the board members. The goal is for the CPAB members to field community concerns prior to meetings and present them to authorities, as opposed to having a large group of people show up at meetings to present issues one-by-one. Leslie said the CPAB may grow to include more members and hold public meetings.

“It may grow by a small amount but I want it to be manageable in size,” Leslie said. “If people want to be involved in sub-committees, the board can determine if that’s appropriate. We will be posting information about the meetings on our website at lapdwilshire.com.”

Leslie said the CPAB will meet on the third Thursday of each month. He will provide direction at the first meeting, but will soon hand the reins to other command staff members, as the captain is transferring to the LAPD’s Central Division on March 20 as that division’s new commanding officer.

Capt. Rolando Solano, the incoming commanding officer for the Wilshire Division, said he has been briefed about the new CPAB and looks forward to working with members. Solano previously served as commanding officer at the LAPD’s West Traffic and West Los Angeles Divisions, and said community outreach is a major part of promoting public safety.

“These boards are critical,” Solano said. “If you live in a community where the problem is not violent crime but there is a continuous problem, we want to hear about it,” Solano said. “It could be a guy who is always flying down the street and blowing through a stop sign. That’s not going to show up in statistics, but I can take the info and give it to the senior lead officers and they will deal with those problems. The bottom line is I want to have that input from the community.”