Police Chief Promises 5 Officers for Pico Area : Crime: City Council gives unanimous approval and acknowledges that the area has been neglected for years.

SANTA MONICA —  Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts promised to assign five police officers to the crime-ridden Pico neighborhood as part of a multitiered plan to provide safe streets in the poorest neighborhood of the city.

Butts’ proposal, approved unanimously by the City Council on Tuesday, was a long-awaited response to an outcry from the ethnically mixed neighborhood, which has long viewed itself as the city’s neglected stepchild.

In October, more than 150 irate community members demanded that the council do something about the crime--most of it drug- and gang-related--that plagues the area in the southeast part of the city.

On Tuesday, some council members acknowledged that residents might have cause to think the neighborhood had been given short shrift while city officials were concentrating on other issues, including making the city inviting to visitors.

“Your neighborhood has been neglected over the years,” said Councilman Kelly Olsen. “We forgot about the people we are supposed to serve first--the people who live here.”

The Pico neighborhood is bounded by Pico Boulevard on the south, Centinela Avenue on the east, Santa Monica Boulevard and Colorado Avenue on the north and 14th Street on the west. The neighborhood is bisected by the Santa Monica Freeway; the section north of the freeway is primarily commercial and industrial.

Most of the problems are in the residential area that lies south of the freeway, according to one council member.

“When I drive down Michigan Avenue, it looks like South-Central,” said Councilman Tony Vazquez.

According to Census data, the neighborhood is about 45% Latino, 30% Anglo, 18% African-American and 7% Asian-American. More than a quarter of the households have incomes below the federal poverty level, which for a family of four is $12,674.

A survey by the Police Department concluded that most Pico residents thought they received better police protection than people living in Los Angeles and other nearby cities. But many residents also complained at public meetings that Pico receives less attention than Santa Monica’s more affluent neighborhoods.

Dissension in the community had been building ever since Butts, soon after becoming police chief 1 1/2 years ago, ordered the closure of a police substation that residents said was effective and gave them a sense of security.

Butts’ view is that the department as a whole must be committed to solving Pico’s problems. He said before he became chief, the Pico neighborhood substation isolated the area. “It was an outpost,” Butts said. “The Pico neighborhood disappeared within a vacuum.”

Ultimately, though, Butts agreed to reassign a team of five officers for as long as it takes to assuage community fears, which he maintains are greater than warranted by the actual crime rate.

Several times during his presentation to the council, Butts spoke of a crime “perception” problem, as compared to the reality. “A lot of problems are perceptual,” he said.

After the meeting, Butts said it would take about three or four months to get the officers in place.

The delay, and the apparent temporary nature of the commitment of officers, drew criticism from community activist Ed Bell, founder of a group called Community United Crime Fighters’ Assn., which has been pressing the city for action.

Bell said he endorsed the police chief’s plan, which includes recreation programs for youths, a school truancy program, graffiti abatement and cultural awareness training. But, Bell said, the key to making his community happy is a strong police presence, including beat officers on bicycles.

“You can have all the social programs you want, but without a police presence we will always have problems,” Bell said at the hearing.

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Butts, however, contends that putting a police officer on every corner is not the solution to a troubled neighborhood.

At a community meeting soon after becoming chief, Butts bluntly told his audience that parents must be involved in supervising their teen-agers. His own plan for a youth curfew was rejected by a City Council concerned with violating the civil rights of teen-agers.

Butts also said the community must organize and involve itself in solutions, rather than asking the city to fix its ills.

On Tuesday, several council members congratulated the neighborhood on doing just that. “I’m really proud of the community for coming out,” Olsen said.

Although Butts said he would stay in touch with Pico residents, he balked at a suggestion from Councilman Ken Genser that he hold regular meetings to discuss continuing problems. “That’s over-managing the Police Department,” Butts said.