Bradley Calls for Community Role in Fight on Crime

In an effort to ease community fears about crime, Mayor Tom Bradley spoke to a gathering at a South-Central Los Angeles elementary school Saturday and appointed the organizer of the meeting to a committee concerned with police deployment.

Virginia Taylor Hughes, head of Merchants for Community Improvement, will sit on the watchdog group that is helping the Los Angeles Police Commission choose an independent contractor to study how police are assigned to various areas.

Another private citizen, possibly from the San Fernando Valley, is expected to be named to the group, which so far consists of police and city officials, a Bradley spokesman said.

In his short, pep talk-like speech to the 50 people gathered at Western Elementary School, Bradley placed the burden of crime prevention on them.

“A safe community requires the active involvement of residents and merchants such as the group gathered here today,” he said.

After hearing a half dozen complaints about the department--ranging from slow response time to rude officers on the 911 emergency line--Bradley urged the audience to document their experiences and contact his office with the complaints.