STUDIO CITY : Residents Group Will Walk a Beat

Aiming to make Studio City “the safest community in the San Fernando Valley,” a local residents association on Monday announced plans for increased cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department division that covers the area.

Under the group’s Partners Against Crime plan, members of the Studio City Residents Assn. will conduct foot patrols with walkie-talkies and report suspicious activities to police.

The association also plans to conduct an annual crime prevention workshop with the assistance of LAPD officers, said Tony Lucente, association president, who drafted the plan. “I view our organization as having a key role in supporting LAPD crime-fighting efforts,” he said. “If we operate within this framework, we’ll be sure to do so.”

Lucente said he is hopeful that the new program will end some of the overlapping that occurs among association and police crime prevention efforts.

Under the agreement, police will provide association members with crime updates at monthly association meetings as well as material for a special “Crime Watch” feature in its monthly newsletter.

Police Sgt. Bill Martin said this type of relationship, which the division maintains with many other groups, is an important part of community-based policing.

“We are going to increase our communication with the residents,” Martin said. “It always a good idea. These people are indeed our eyes and ears.”